DBM to release P490M for Boracay road

The government will speed up the rehabilitation of the Boracay Circumferential Road in Aklan, taking advantage of the island-resort’s six-month closure, the Department of Budget and Management said Wednesday.

Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said in a briefing that the P490 million to be released to the Department of Public Works and Highways this week will augment the initial P50 million allocated under the 2018 national budget.

The additional fund, to be charged against the DPWH’s savings so far this year, will “fast-track project completion,” Diokno said.

Specifically, “the fund release will be used to accelerate the construction progress of the 5.2-kilometer road that will strictly follow the 6.1-meter carriageway standard on both sides,” the DBM said in a statement.

“According to the DPWH, the project will incorporate an improved drainage and sewerage system along the main road to contain in-land flooding. It will also be divided into three sections. The first phase will start from Cagban Port to Rotonda (1.4 kilometers), the second from Rotonda to Barangay Balabag (1.9 kilometers), and the third from Barangay Balabag to Barangay Yapak (1.9 kilometers),” the DBM added.

With the additional funding, the rehabilitated road was expected to have a soft opening in just four months, Diokno said.

While other agencies have yet to request funds for their respective projects related to the rehabilitation of Boracay Island that started last April 26, Diokno said that they can dip into the P13-billion 2018 contingency fund as well as this year’s calamity fund.

The DBM last week released P448 million in financial assistance to the Department of Labor and Employment to benefit 17,735 displaced workers in Malay, the town where Boracay is located.