TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - A total of P21 million worth of infrastructure projects were inaugurated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the local government unit of Lasam in Cagayan.

Mayor Dante Dexter Agatep Jr. said the projects were made possible under the DILG's 2022 Local Government Support Fund (LGSF)—Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and their incentive for being a 2022 Seal of Good Local Governance Awardee under the Seal of Good Local Governance Incentive Fund (SGLGIF) program.

Under the SGLGIF program, the concreting of a 384-meter Tucalan-Passing farm-to-market road in Barangay Tucalan-Passing worth 5 million pesos was completed.

“Unang-una, nais po nating magpasalamat sa ating national government, sa ating mahal na pangulo, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., sa mga programang dumarating sa ating bayan. Dahil sa kanyang countryside development at peace promotion efforts na nakapaloob sa SBDP. Taos pusong pasasalamat sa DILG, regional and provincial field office, na siyaanag-oversee upang ma-implement ang mga proyektong ito, at sa NTF-ELCAC,” said Agatep.

(First of all, we want to thank our national government, our dear president, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., for the programs that are downloaded to our town because of his countryside development and peace promotion efforts contained in the SBDP. We extend our sincere thanks to the DILG, regional and provincial field office, which oversees the implementation of these projects, and the NTF-ELCAC.)

Under the LGSF-SBDP, four barangays in the said municipality, previously categorized as insurgency-influenced barangays due to the presence of communist rebels, were among the 18 identified barangays as beneficiaries in the province in 2022.

In Barangay Magsaysay, two farm-to-market roads were implemented, one in Zone 1 with a length of 164 meters worth P1.8 million and one in Zone 3 with a length of 170 meters worth P2.2 million.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa ibinigay na tulong ng NTF-ELCAC sa barangay namin dito, kasi malaking tulong po itong naibigay na pondo. Kasi noon wala talagang kalsada, ngayon nagkakalsada na,” said Barangay Captain Antonio Genobee of Magsaysay.

(I am grateful for the help given by NTF-ELCAC to our barangay here, because this fund provided is a big help. Because then there was no road at all, now there are roads.)

In Barangay Cabatacan West, residents can now enjoy their new Level I water system, which offers continuous service and potable water. The project costs P3 million.

In the same barangay, 26 units of solar LED streetlights were installed at a total cost of one million pesos.

In Barangay Cabatacan East, the concreting of 253-meter pavement was completed at a total cost of P4 million.

Meanwhile, in Barangay Peru, a new barangay health station, which costs P4 million, was formally turned over to the barangay.

Barangay Captain Jerwin Manuel said that with the recent completion of the barangay health station, medical personnel from the Rural Health Unit will now have an improved and comfortable space to carry out their monthly medical check-ups and other healthcare-related activities within the barangay.