MORE NEWS, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

P792M set for Cordillera SONA projects next year

BONTOC, Mountain Province – The national government earmarked a total of P792 million from next year’s 1.227 trillion national budget to rehabilitate vital road networks in the Cordillera, improve accessibility and spur economic development.

Rep. Victor S. Dominguez said here over 50 percent of the fund allocation was already programmed for vital projects in this province.

Out of the 792 million road development package for the region, P333 million will be used for the continuation of rehabilitation works at the Mount Data to Bontoc section of the Halsema highway, P121 million for the Bontoc to Banaue section of the same roadline and P338 million for the rehabilitation of the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road.

The funds for the rehabilitation of the two road networks came from local sources after the World Bank suspended the country’s $232 million for the National Road Improvement Project which was supposed to fund the implementation of the projects.

Out of the P121 million for the Bontoc to Banaue section of the Halsema highway, P70 million will be allotted for the Mountain province side while P150 million out of the P338 million earmarked for the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road will be used for the Mountain Province side of the road.

Dominguez said out of the P694 million supposedly released for the road projects in the cordillera for this year, only P423 million was actually released and implemented by the concerned government agencies.

He said only P292 million was given to the remaining two phases of the Halsema highway while another P131 million was utilized to jumpstart the implementation of various projects within the Bontoc-Tabuk-Tuguegarao road.

Some delays are expected in the implementation of works along the Halsema highway due to the issue on alleged substandard implementation of works, but according to Dominguez, delays would not be sufficient to stop completion of the whole project by 2010 or at the time that the president will step down from office.

Dominguez said it is during the term of President Arroyo that the concerns of the Cordillera were given enough attention for it to progress as envisioned in the Super Region concept of the present administration. – Dexter A. See


1,918 studes granted full scholarship in MP school
BY DEXTER A SEE

BONTOC, Mountain province – A total of 1,918 students at the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College here was granted full scholarship grants by Rep. victor S. Dominguez after they passed rigid screening process.

Based on the final list transmitted by the office of Dominguez to MPSPC president Nieves A. Dacyon, Bontoc topped the list with the most number of grantees with 577 followed by Bauko with 474; Tadian, 227; Sadanga, 214; Natonin, 128; Barlig, 127; Sagada, 72; Paracelis, 29; Besao, 9 and Sabangan with only six grantees.

There were over 2,700 students at the MPSPC who applied for the full scholarship grant after the lawmaker made it mandatory for the students to file their letter of intent subjected to rigid screening process.

Dominguez implemented the full scholarship program at the MPSPC for all bonafide students of this province during the school year 2005-2006 to enable poor but deserving students to acquire a descent education which they could use for their professional and economic advancement.

A total of P10 million, P7 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund of Dominguez and P3 million from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, is allocated annually for the implementation of the full scholarship program.

Starting school year 2008-2009, Dominguez said full scholarship program will be opened to all graduating high school students from the different municipalities who are interested to enroll at MPSPC.

He added students could immediately file their application for the full scholarship grant to his office even after graduation from high school so that they could already subject them to screening.

Under the new policy, students interested to avail of the program must have his application letter jointly signed by his or her parents to show their sincerity in pursuing a descent education and so that the parents would ensure that their children would do good in their college studies.

The congressman suspended the implementation of the program during the first semester of the present school year after several disgruntled groups filed a series of cases against him before the Commission on Higher Education and the Commission on Human Rights questioning the implementation of the program.

Thousands of students then petitioned the office of Dominguez to restore the implementation of the full scholarship program since it would be beneficial for them in acquiring a higher level of education as they strongly condemned the involvement of “dirty politics” by some of his critics just to derail the good intention of the program.