Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo said the provincial government will no longer rely on national government funding for the implementation of programs and projects in the province.
This is because his administration suffered severely from the four withdrawals of national funding in the past months for still unknown reasons.
These were the P481 million calamity fund, that is half of the amount promised by President Benigno Aquino III after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked the province on February 6, 2012; the P100 million allocation from the Department of Health for the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital; the P16 million assistance for the Guihulngan District Hospital; and a multi-million agriculture project, Degamo said.
He said he believes the withdrawals have political color because he is not aligned with the Aquino administration. The sad part is that the national government agencies concerned have not offered any explanation for the withdrawals, he added.
Degamo admitted that the withdrawal of funds will impact on the lives of the Negrenses, but he vowed to pursue the programs and projects affected by the curtailment.
He said he is taking this as a challenge to continue with his administration’s thrust of serving the people of Negros Oriental, and bringing to them basic services and development projects.*JFP