Bicol optimistic over P14-B investment program for next year

By Danny O. Calleja

LEGAZPI CITY, Dec. 22 (PNA) – As early as January this year, the Bicol Regional Development Council (RDC) had already formulated the government’s Annual Investment Programs (AIPs) for 2010 that involves a proposed amount of about P14 billion for the region’s economic, social and infrastructure sectors.

“This program is in harmony with the Arroyo government’s development agenda and we expect the P1.1-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2010 would give us more optimism that it will be realized,” Albay Governor and RDC chair Joey Salceda told the Philippines News Agency over the weekend.

The Bicol 2010 AIPs were approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) before the proposed national budget was submitted by Malacañang to Congress, said Salceda, who is among President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s top economic advisers.

He said the national budget need not shoulder entirely the nearly P14 billion funding for these AIPs as it also contains projects very likely to be funded through foreign assistance and the National Lump Sum (NLS).

The total funding requirement of P13.850 billion for this Bicol investment program is divided among the government’s economic sector with P4.952 billion; social sector, P3.147 billion and; infrastructure sector, P5.752 billion, Salceda said.

The economic sector is composed of the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Agrarian Reform (DAR), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Trade and Industry (DTI), Science and Technology (DOST) and Tourism (DOT).

Also parts of this sector are the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA), Environment Management Bureau (EMB) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

The social sector meanwhile is comprised of the Departments of Health (DOH), Labor and Employment (DOLE), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Education (DepED) and all state-owned universities and colleges in the region.

The Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Transportation and Communication (DOTC) on the other hand belong to the infrastructure sector.

Forerunner in terms of amount for its 2010 AIP among the economic sector is the DAR regional office that is asking for about P2.8 billion, almost P2 billion of it to be funded under the agency’s budget provided by the GAA and the rest, through foreign assistance.

Under the DAR Bicol regional office’s program, the proposed national budget-provided fund will finance its Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Land Tenure Improvement (LTI), Delivery of Agrarian Justice (DAJ), Program Beneficiaries Development (PBD) that are mostly ongoing and require sustainability.

The CARP funded projects worth P1.899 billion are agricultural support infrastructures such as farm-to-market roads and bridges, small water impounding irrigation facilities and potable water systems for agrarian reform communities (ARCs). The LTI, DAJ and PBD are earmarked with about P177 million.

The second largest budget proposal for the next year’s AIP worth P1.243 billion comes from the DA that allocates P781.565 million for national government-funded regular programs like development of crop and livelihood sectors and agriculture and fishery modernization under the GMA Rice Program, GMA Corn, GMA High-Value Crop and GMA Livestock. Most of these programs are ongoing.

The DA regional office also included in its AIP locally-funded projects such as agricultural diversification, pili nut development, research and development, dairy development, biofuel, pineapple industry development, upland sustainable agricultural development and land and soil resources management, among others.

These locally-funded projects require over P444.3 million and majority of them are new and proposed.

The next bigger AIP in term of proposed funding was submitted by the PCA regional office that says it would need at least P384.8 million for its production support, market development, credit facilitation, irrigation development, extension support, education and training services that require some P308.4 million.

It has also earmarked an amount of around P59.3 million for its other infrastructure and post harvest development and research and development activities.

The PCA said it is doubling its efforts next year to further rehabilitate the coconut industry of the region from the devastations it suffered from super typhoons that ravaged vast plantations three years ago.

The DENR regional office, on the other hand, had appropriated some P209.3 million for its AIP that is focused on forest management for P193.5 million; land management service, P4.5 million; Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management, P9 million and ecosystem research and development services, P2.4 million.

FIDA, meanwhile, wants a continuity of its abaca planting materials production and distribution in the region for P7.1 million and a funding of P77.5 million for its Pangkabuhayang Abaka sa Probinsyang Albay (PAPA) project that aims at reclaiming the lost glory of Albay in the field of abaca production.

The total amount of FIDA’s AIP is P99 million, most of which would be devoted to measures toward the preservation and improvement of the region’s abaca industry, Bicol’s top dollar earner being confronted by dreaded plant diseases.

The DOST has proposed a P85.7-million AIP, P23.4 million of which is to be funded through the national budget for its implementation of its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) and science and technology services.

The program would provide new technology, manpower training, capital, product markets, product standards and testing facilities, packaging and product labeling, raw materials, information and better transport facilities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

It is nationwide strategy to boost MSME productivity and competitiveness via technology innovations and the technical interventions involving it result in enhanced product quality, upgraded human resources, cost reduction, effective waste management and tuned-up operations

The rest of the total DOST AIP fund requirements amounting PP62.3 million would be funded through the NLS.

DOT’s AIP focused on funding support for the development and improvement of tourist spots and facilities in the six provinces of Bicol is asking for P74.85 million to be sourced from the national budget.

The agency is aiming to sustain next year Bicol’s tourism industry gains during the previous years until this year that saw the region emerging as among the top tourist destinations in the country owing to an aggressive tourism promotion and development initiated by some of local government units.

Camarines Sur, for one, has earned the reputation as the number most visited provinces nationwide during the last two years due to its Camarines Sur Watersports Complex (CWC) and the Gota Gota Village Resort (GVR) in Caramoan town, among others.

CWC, established at the vast Capitol complex in Pili town over five years ago is now considered a wakeboarding mecca and world center for various water-based sports.

Opened two years ago, GVR on the other hand has emerged as one of the best eco-tourism destinations in the world as listed by the Top Resa 2008 in Paris.

It is interesting to note that because of GVR, the Philippines has been increasingly catching the eye and interest of the European tourism market. It was chosen as venue for two consecutive years of the ”Koh Lanta,” the French franchise of the reality show serial Survivor, now being aired by Europe’s major broadcast channel TF1 to an audience of over 12 million worldwide.

Spearheaded by Governor Luis Raymund Villafuerte, an aggressive tourism-promotions campaign spiked Camarines Sur’s tourist arrivals. A whopping 902,202 tourists visited the province during the first six months of this year, DOT records show.

The figure earned for the province the distinction as the most-favored tourism destination in the Philippines, eclipsing 16 other fabulous spots including former top rankers Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Bohol, Boracay and Puerto Galera, it said.

The smallest budgeted AIP among the economic sector belongs to the MGB that requires only over P10 million for its geosciences development services and mineral lands administration.

The rest of minimal budget requirements are only for the continuation of all on-going programs that are parts of each agency’s regular projects.

And while waiting for 2010 that hopefully would mark the realization of the multi-billion investment program, the year 2009 would end with various accomplishments by both the public and private sectors in lifting Bicol’s economy through massive investments.

Early this year, the Embarcadero de Legazpi, a world-class luxurious business hub located within a P1.8-billion economic-tourism zone developed by the Sunwest Group of Companies in a 5.1-hectare bay-front commercial complex at the heart of the Legazpi City started the operation of its first phase housing famous department stores and food chains.

Next year, its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park is expected to be operationalized to house an 8,000-seater call center to be manned by 24,000 agents composing three shifts.

Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal said of the ICT Park: “We expect to take a bigger share of the burgeoning global BPO market, and the 24,000 jobs that it would open to the Bicol work force alone could already translate to about P500 million in monthly salaries and wages.”

During the middle of this year, the city also opened the initial phase of its state of the art Central Bus Terminal, a P300-million investment made possible through build-operate and transfer scheme.

Also this year, the construction of the P1.9-billion modern irrigation system within the Bicol River Basin covering Camarines Sur area was started.

Called the Libmanan-Cabusao irrigation system, the project that is expected to be completed before the end of next year would irrigate about 4,000 hectares of rice land tilled by some 3,000 farmers.

It was designed to increase the annual net production value of farmer-beneficiaries from P207.5 million to P593.6 million, according to Assistant Secretary Tomasito Monzon, the presidential assistant for Bicol and project management officer of the Bicol River Basin and Watershed Management Project (BRBWMP).

The BRBWMP, which was formed under the Office of the President about four years ago, oversees the development into a productive area of the BRB, a 312,164-hectare wetland that covers 41 municipalities of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Albay.

Monzon said, “everything that is in place now and would be in place next year would be Pres. Arroyo’s legacy for Bicol as her administration works hard for the liberation of the region from poverty that make it lingers at the rank of second poorest in the country.

Salceda said next year may be different for most of the efforts for Bicol development pursued by the present administration as President Arroyo ends her term. “Anyway, the RDC is now drafting a successor regional development plan which would be finalized simultaneously with the national development before the end of June 2010.”

The successor plan would ensure the region’s economic growth and financial stability, provide for social services and safety nets, promote global competitiveness, rationalize physical infrastructure, strengthen human resources and stabilize the country.

In ensuring the region’s economic growth and financial stability, Salceda said the successor plan would contain strategic policies and programs that shall ensure sound fiscal administration, prudent financial market regulation, full employment and tolerable inflation.

For social services, the plan would provide world class basic education and health services to the poor while community upgrading and mass housing is given top priority, he said.

In promoting global competitiveness, it would work towards world class agriculture, manufacturing and service industries while rationalizing physical infrastructure would contain strategic policies to guide implementation of transportation and energy and water utilization in full consideration of urbanization trends and objectives, the RDC chair said.

Strengthening human resources means providing world class advanced education, facilities and opportunities to the country’s scholars, professionals and technicians and stabilizing the country is anchored on the basic principle that good governance, peace and order, and national security are the foundations of economic development, Salceda said.

It shall put forward strategic implementation of election reform, eliminate corruption, crush insurgency and stop criminality, he added. (PNA)