TACLOBAN CITY, (PNA) — Funds for the implementation of Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig Para sa Lahat (SALINTUBIG) in three municipalities of Samar will not be downloaded to their intended recipients due to their lack of Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH).
Instead, projects in municipalities of San Jose de Buan, Pinabacdao and Sta Rita will be implemented by the regional office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), according to Engr. Ofelia M. Pido, coordinator of the Planning and Project Development Management Unit (PDMU).
This move has the knowledge and consent of Undersecretary Austere Panadero, she said.
However, once they could seek a certification from the Commission on Audit (COA) that they “comply substantially” to COA findings, a recommendation will be submitted to the regional director to approve the release of funds to the local government unit (LGU).
The SGH is one of the requirements set by the DILG for funds to be directly released to the recipient LGU.
Salintubig projects funded under the bottom-up budgeting approach (BuB) are not categorized as waterless barangays or municipalities but the LGUs themselves found the project a necessity.
This year, 33 LGUs in Eastern Visayas have opted to implement Salintubig projects.
Except for municipalities in Northern Samar to include Mapanas and Catubig that have already started with their implementation, the others are still in their preparatory stage.
DILG has already downloaded some P35.484 million to LGU-recipients, covering the first tranche, of the P81.33 million total budget of the project.