TUGUEGARAO CITY—President Rodrigo Duterte has assured Batanes Gov. Marilou H. Cayco that P835 million in rehabilitation funds for the province will soon be released to the concerned government agencies in the island province.
Cayco said the President has finally approved the budget for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and public property damaged by typhoon “Ferdie” last year.
“We have to follow-up the downloading of the said fund from the national office of the concerned agencies to their respective regional offices,” the governor said.
The agencies given rehabilitation funds for Batanes include the Department of Agriculture Experiment Station, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, DWBT Radyo ng Bayan, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration, and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority.
Six municipal governments, the Provincial Veterinary Office, the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Saint Dominic College, and the Cagayan provincial government would also receive the funds, Cayco stressed.
Some of these agencies have started their rehabilitation efforts, the governor said, but “some offices still need major repairs to bring back their services.”
Cayco thanked the President for his immediate response to their request “and willingness to serve the Ivatans” on Batanes.
