Sagada radio, Drainage issues

HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina P. Dizon

SAGADA, Mountain Province -- Dagdag barangay constituents here recently called for a stop to construction of a drainage system not identified by civil society organizations and barangay officials during a meeting.l  

This, while a private lot owner complained that she was not consulted on the use of her property on the constructing said drainage system.

In their Dec. 11 general assembly, barangay constituents further agreed to forward a resolution to concerned officials and construction firm  to reroute the Letang-Daoangan drainage  canal  consistent with the  identification of  concerned CSOs and barangay council.

Construction of a drainage canal with project cost of P1 million  was listed as a project under the Bottom up Budgetting (BuB) scheme  of the local government unit of Sagada municipality for 2014  wherein  concerned  civil society organizations (CSOs) identified continuation of the existing Letang-Daoangan drainage.

Yakie Tumbaga chairperson of Dagdag-based Tulan Young Mothers organization said what they identified was the rehabilitation of  existingLetang- Daoangan drainage  and not what is currently being contested which is the opening of a new drainage canal.

Sangguniang  Kagawad  Regina Baldo said the barangay council  earlier forwarded a resolution  to Mayor Eduardo Latawan  stating that the P1 million Letang-Daoangan drainage route  continue rehabilitation of an  existing drainage system.  

Dagdag barangay resident  Egbert Dailay said  constructing  another route was an act  disrespectful to barangay officials who were duly  elected by  constituents of  Dagdag.

This, as private lot owner and Dagdag resident Magdalena Rimando complained of her lot having been dug for said  drainage canal  when she  has not  given her consent nor  was she consulted on the matter.

In her letter to Latawan, Rimando expressed her vehement opposition to the construction done to her lot as she called for a stop on the construction and the restoration of the initial state of her property.

It was also learned that  part of the P1 million peso drainage fund was used for another drainage project in a different location.

Barangay Dagdag in their  collective resolution called for a  stop on the construction of  Letang-Daoangan drainage system on affected lot owner’s property, rerouting of drainage system to its identified location path and using project funds to where it is designed to be.

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It was in 2002 when Bayan Muna Rep. Liza Maza  granted P1 million from her  priority development assistance funds (PDAF) for the establishment  of a wireless public address system or community radio for Sagada.

With local govnerme3nt unit partner non-government organization DAGAMI of  Sagada, the amount of P150,000  was initially released for office repairs and trainings leaving a balance of P850,000 which is now deposited in the trust fund of the LGU. 

Commission on Audit   findings noted that the P850 thousand was not utilized because  a community radio station  had already been put up. COA noted that no follow up was made on a request to use the funds for a project related  to the original  intent of the fund.

Mayor Eduardo Latawan informed Commission on Audit they experienced a problem in the implementation of the project to which the fund was originally intended for much as there was already an existing radio station.

It was learned the LGU intended to build an office space for the radio station on the second floor of the newly built rural health clinic.  

The  remaining P850,000 remains in the trust fund of the municipality.

A radio station called Radio Sagada  with frequency 104.7 FM was separately established by the Sagada Community Media Network and Northern Information Media Network with  funds sourced from donor Germany-based Miserior.