TACLOBAN CITY – Full implementation of post-Yolanda rehabilitation plan will be delayed for another week from its original June 15 target, pending the approval of a master plan by Malacañang, said Presidential Assistant for Recovery and Rehabilitation (PARR) Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. Lacson said Cabinet members will make a final review of the master plan on June 13, incorporating new proposals. It will take a week for President Benigno Aquino to approve the blueprint prior to implementation. “It will be delayed by one week, but we’re still on track. It’s better to rebuild back better than to hurry up. We are on the side of caution,” Lacson told reporters at the sidelines of school groundbreaking project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on June 9 at the San Fernando Elementary School, this city. Until this week, different clusters are still vetting figures from new proposals of local government units. “ We want to converge numbers and address discrepancies. All expenditures should be properly vetted before the President’s approval,” Lacson said. The official said that rehabilitation activities in the central Philippines have been ongoing, but it’s not yet massive since only a small fraction of the overall funds have been downloaded by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). “Once the plan is approved, we will start downloading funds. We cannot do it without approved rehab plan. It’s like the General Appropriations Act,” he added. On May 30, Cabinet members signed a P105 billion rehabilitation and recovery master plan stemmed from consolidated proposals from the local governments of Tacloban, Leyte, Samar, and Cebu. Proposed plans from Eastern Samar and Iloilo will be reviewed by Cabinet members this week, according to Lacson. The PARR office has sent a team of technical staffs to provinces of Antique, Aklan and Biliran to help local government units (LGUs) prepare proposals and program of works. “This is with the help of USAID. We ask that a portion of their rebuilding fund will be used for technical assistance to LGUs,” he added. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
