The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will give P20 million each to eight barangays in Palawan under its Barangay Development Program (BDP).
The P20-million budget is intended for projects such as farm-to-market roads, school buildings, health stations, rural electrification, reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair, housing, and COVID-19 vaccination, agricultural, livelihood, and technical vocational training and projects.
The eight barangays identified are Barangays Samariniana, Salogon, Saraza, and Amas of Brooke’s Point; Barangays Abaroan, Dumarao, and Magara of Roxas town; and Brgy. Kemdeng of San Vicente.
Those barangays underwent “area clearing” that was conducted during the deployment of the Community Support Program (CSP) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This aims to protect and prevent the communist group from conducting recruitment on target places.
At the same time, its goal is to engage the community on government projects to identify problems in communities that are mostly the reason the communists attract individuals and convince them to go against the government.
With the help of Palawan Task Force ELCAC led by Governor Jose Ch. Alvarez, the Provincial Government prepared all the necessary documents and requirements needed to ensure the projects will be implemented as soon as possible.
Engineer Ranford Villegas, Engineer III of the Provincial Government, said that the projects for the eight barangays will be implemented soon since the budget already turned over to the Municipal Task Force ELCAC last November 04, 2021 when President Rodrigo R. Duterte visited Palawan.
The P160-million budget for the province is part of the P16.4 billion allocated under the General Appropriations Act to fund NTF-ELCAC programs.