Baguio City – With a total estimated project cost amounting to P67,687,059, the Regional Project Advisory Board – Cordillera Administrative Region (RPAB-CAR) has unanimously approved 10 more stand-alone I-BUILD (Infrastructure Development) subprojects for inclusion and approval for implementation under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP).

In addition to the 18 stand-alone sub-projects previously endorsed by the RPAB on August 26, 2016 for the issuance of a No Objection Letter 1 (NOL1), the Board has approved the construction of five Potable Water Systems (PWS) in the municipality of Banaue, Ifugao with a total cost of P21, 296,059.00 and one in Bokod, Benguet (P12, 781,000.00).

Since water potability has been a long-standing dilemma of the residents in the upland barangays of Banaue and Bokod, the establishment of water systems are expected to increase the quality and quantity of potable water supply in its service areas. Thus, households need not to travel distances to fetch water from springs and from other sources.

Moreover, the Board has also approved the construction of other rural infrastructures such as: the construction of warehouses in the municipality of La Paz, Abra (PhP9,902,000.00); the construction of slope stabilization in Tineg, Abra (PhP9,483,000.00); the construction of a consolidation facility in Bakun, Benguet (P3,222,000.00); and the construction of flood control in Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet (P11, 003,000.00).

As stand-alone subprojects, these are exempted from the preparation of value chain analyses and provincial commodity investment plans but are necessary in the agricultural development of the different localities.

Under the Project, the World Bank (loan proceeds) will shell out 80% of the total cost of the subprojects and 10% will be subsidized by the national government through the Department of Agriculture (DA).  The remaining 10% will be paid by the proponent P/MLGU as counterpart fund. (Elvy Taquio, RPCO-CAR InfoACE)