Capitol
banks off revamp
The
provincial government's reengineering program has to wait for the next administration
as it cannot be implemented as of now.
Meantime,
the Governor's Office has prioritized the requirements of the Provincial Road
Maintenance Facility (PRMF) of the Australian Government Aid Program and the Department
of Interior and Local Government which include the elevation of the Internal Audit
System into a regular department, and the streamlining of the Human Resource Management
and Development Office, Provincial Engineer's Office and the Bids and Awards Committee.
It
is for this reason that the Governor's Office filled up the necessary positions
in the offices involved in the implementation of the project and other offices
that supports their operations.
PRMF
will be implemented in five years with funding support from AusAID, involving
the rehabilitation and maintenance of road network and strengthening the capacity
and governance systems of the Philippine government.
Bohol
is among the few provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao chosen as the project's
beneficiaries.
| | | "This
project is aimed at increasing economic activity and improving public access to
infrastructure and services in the southern Philippines," according to its
consultant, Coffey International Development.
To
implement the PRMF, the Australian government also requires the centralization
of the Information and Communications Technology and Geographic Information System
facilities.
It
also requires the enhancement of the locally-generated revenues through the Electronic
Tax Revenue Assessment and Collection System (e-TRACS), tax mapping and the organization
of the economic enterprise to augment the revenue generation of the provincial
government. | As
pilot of e-TRACS, the local government unit of Maribojoc attested to its efficiency
in raising the local revenues and its success story can be replicated provincewide.
One
of the steps currently undertaken is investing the P1.5-million funding from the
PLDT Foundation on Jatropha propagation project for poverty reduction initiated
by the Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office.
In
addition to the compliance of the PRMF requirements, the provincial government
also prioritizes now the immediate need to hire doctors and nurses at the province-run
hospitals and the Provincial Health Office, and to fill up other vital positions
to facilitate compliance of the requirements of ongoing projects and programs.
Governor
Erico Aumentado said that under his watch the provincial government had saved
over P100 million for not filling up 1,600 positions.
The
savings had been utilized for other projects and incentives of employees, he said.
Aumentado
said the provincial government could have saved more had the reengineering been
implemented since it would streamline the workforce, yet with higher salary rates.
The
Provincial Development Council recently approved the supplemental Annual Investment
Program for 2010 that involves a funding of P61,582,958 wherein P28.243 million
is set aside for the provincial government's counterpart in the completion of
segment 1 and 3 of PRMF supported projects; P3.527 million for IT backbone connection
project at the Capitol; and P2 million for e-TRACS facilities.
The
rest of the funding goes to CPG Park Improvement project, P2.35 million; support
funding for the payment of unpaid obligations on electricity and water; P500,000;
Philhealth Para sa Masa Program, P7 million; PhilHealth insurance for barangay
officials P5,686,740; maintenance of provincial roads, P10 million; regravelling
with soil stabilizer along La Paz (Cortes) Cabaguan-Lourdes-Corella provincial
road, P1,947,114; and procurement of road and bridge maintenance tools for management
unit I and IV, P329,104.
The
Sangguniang Panlalawigan had also passed recently a resolution approving and adopting
the Annual Investment Program.
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