QUEZON CITY -- For their efforts in ensuring safe and sustainable resettlement communities, twelve (12) local government units (LGUs) have been cited by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for their efficient utilization of the Resettlement Governance Assistance Fund (RGAF) to address the immediate needs of the relocated families during their adjustment to their new communities.

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año said the 12 LGUs prudently used the RGAF for development projects in the 18 resettlement sites in their respective areas for the establishment of community facilities for disaster preparedness, peace and order, and solid waste management as well as for the implementation of community development programs, sustainable livelihood development, and other capacity development activities.

“We in the Department will always be indebted for all the work you’ve put into this program and most importantly, for welcoming and embracing our resettled families. I can assure you that our support will not waver and will only continue to become even stronger—all for the benefit of our kababayans,” Año told the 12 LGUs.

The DILG Secretary said that during dialogues and consultations with LGUs, the Department acknowledged the challenges and difficulties encountered by the concerned LGUs in hosting the thousands of informal settler families who were relocated from danger zones and waterways in Metro Manila.

“Hindi lang basta natin inilikas ang ating mga kababayang nakatira sa peligrosong lugar, kundi siniguro rin natin na sila ay maninirahan sa maayos na komunidad na kumpleto ang pasilidad at makapamumuhay sila ng maayos. It is for this reason that we have the RGAF in order to help the host LGUs cater to the needs of the new settlers in their areas,” he said.

Recognized during the recent 2017 and 2019 RGAF Awarding & Recognition ceremonies were Balagtas, Bocaue, Norzagaray, Pandi and San Jose Del Monte in Region III; Baras, Rodriguez, Tanay, and Trece Martires in Calabarzon; and the cities of Caloocan, Manila and Valenzuela in the National Capital Region.

Over 2,000 projects amounting to P402.88-million funded by RGAF in 2017 and 2019 were implemented by the LGUs in the 18 in-city and off-site resettlement sites located in the Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

For FY 2017, a total of 20 evacuation centers, 23 barangay outposts, 1022 street lights were erected, while 298 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, 23 dump trucks, 47 patrol vehicles, and 1,045 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) equipment were purchased thru RGAF. Eleven (11) community facilities and seven community vehicles were maintained, 42 were given access to capital amounting to Php 200,000, 54 were provided with Community Development Assistance Fund (CDAF), and ten One Stop Shops (OSS) and one tofu center were also established.

Meanwhile, for FY 2019, RGAF was used to construct one drainage canal; and purchase one backhoe, 135 trash bins, 172 CCTV cameras, 483 street lights, one dump truck, six patrol vehicles, 1,045 DRR equipment, 3,253 Solid Waste Management apparatus, 1,013 Peace and Order gears, and 26 other supplies and equipment for health centers & multipurpose hall. On the other hand, 20 community facilities and 11 community vehicles were maintained, 88 claims for wages and honoraria were paid, 50 were provided access to capital, and 10,051 availed CDAF.

Also cited during the recognition rites were DILG regional, provincial and field officers, local functionaries, and representatives from various homeowners associations in the said regions.

“The DILG is optimistic that with program implementers like you on the ground, the gains we have on resettlement governance will create ripples of sustainable communities capable of sending, receiving, and providing for the basic needs of their relocatees,” Año noted.

In 2017 and 2019, the DILG, through the Capacitating LGUs on Resettlement Governance - Project Management Office (CLRG- PMO), downloaded the RGAF to 15 LGUs in the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3 and 4-A, through their DILG Regional Offices. (DILG)