The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regional office in Cebu City is set to release this month the P961-million cash assistance earlier requested by the provincial government for the repair of damaged infrastructure projects here. 

This was announced by Gov. Roel Degamo in a forum held Wednesday in Dumaguete City. 

Pres. Benigno Aquino III has approved the provincial government’s request for monetary aid to rehabilitate the damaged government-owned infrastructure in the province after typhoon Sendong hit Negros Oriental in December 2011. 

“The president has instructed the DBM to facilitate the transfer of funds to Negros Oriental,” said Degamo. 

Once the funds are released, the governor said they will be used for the immediate construction and repair of the devastated infrastructure facilities, such as roads and bridges. 

Not soon after Sendong, Negros Oriental was on the receiving end of another disaster, when a 6.9-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of the province in February this year. 

Both natural calamities displaced thousands of families in the affected areas here and resulted to the loss of almost a hundred lives. 

Infrastructure facilities worth several millions of pesos were likewise damaged by the twin disasters. 

The provincial government earlier extended nearly P80 million in calamity assistance consisting of food and non-food items to the victims, including initial repair and rehabilitation of the affected infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, river control, dikes, and gabions. (RMN/PIA 7, Negros Oriental)