Australia expands road program coverage

The Australian government has expanded the coverage of its funding program for provincial roads in the Philippines to include an additional three provinces, bringing the total to 10.

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell said in a statement that Aklan, Davao del Norte and Lanao del Norte will now receive funding through its provincial road management facility (PRMF).

The five-year, A$100-million (some P4.3 billion in current exchange rates) program, which runs until 2014, is meant to help local governments in the Visayas and Mindanao to upgrade and then maintain their core road network.

Initially, the program covered Bohol, Guimaras, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental.

Tweddell said that after showing early results, Australia decided to extend the program to another three provinces.

“Roads upgraded by the program are cutting transportation costs and increasing access of poor Filipinos to basic services, such as schools and health clinics,” he said.

The bulk of the funds is earmarked for road rehabilitation and maintenance in the provinces, but the program also supports local governance reforms to improve the quality and efficiency of delivering public service to communities.

Tweddell explained that provinces compete for extra resources through the program’s incentive mechanism by progressing reforms in the key governance areas of planning and budgeting, procurement, internal audit, human resource development and increasing locally generated revenues.

“Our partner provinces are building momentum and introducing good governance reforms,” he said. “They are increasing their revenues to fund essential services to the poor (and) their budgets are more transparent and allow for easier expenditure tracking.”

So far, 14 road rehabilitation projects have been completed through the facility, benefiting some 51,000 people.

First announced in October 2008 following the signing of an agreement between Manila and Canberra, the facility is aimed at providing “by 2014 an estimated 4 million people better access to rehabilitated and maintained road networks, economic activity and public infrastructure and services that will improve their livelihood.”

According to the embassy, Australia will provide over P5 billion in development assistance to the Philippines during its current fiscal year that ends on June 30.