COTABATO CITY, (PNA) — With the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) already gone, three government agencies have been helping fill the gap in the implementation of infrastructure projects in Maguindanao’s first district.
Rep. Bai Sandra Sema of Maguidanao first district said the suspension of the PDAF was a “big blow” to the peace and development initiatives of lawmakers in Southern Mindanao.
However, the line agencies she approached for help readily accepted her request to cushion the impact of the abolition of PDAF.
She identified these government agencies as Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Agriculture (DA).
Sema said her office had presented the peace and development project blueprints to cabinet secretaries who were all convinced the noble and viability of her plans and objectives.
“Health Sec. (Enrique) Ona welcomed my request for the development of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center here,” Sema said.
Last year, Sema’s PDAF amounting to P1 million went to the CRMC for the hospitalization of any of her indigent constituents seeking medical attention.
Agriculture Sec. Proceso Alcala also welcomed Sema’s request for agricultural projects benefiting impoverished Moro communities in Maguindanao.
Speaking to reporters, Sema said the suspension of PDAF should not affect project implementation in her district.
“We should not let this thing (suspension of PDAF) affect our projects because these projects complement the Mindanao peace efforts of President Benigno Aquino,” Sema said.
She stressed that implementation of socio-economic projects in Maguindanao’s first district will complement the peace initiatives of Malacanang in southern Philippines.
Visibly, a huge part of Sema’s PDAF last 2013 were used for the concreting and asphalt overlay of major highways in her district.
“Our lawmakers should coordinate with Aquino’s official family, the cabinet members whose offices also have development initiatives for Mindanao,” she told reporters.