Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Saturday, Sept. 27, that the Visayan Bloc will collectively lobby for more resources for the Visayas.
The bloc has more than 40 members out of a total of 50-plus representatives from the Visayas, said Benitez, who is the group’s convenor.
Some were unable to attend their first meeting last week because of the plenary hearing on the budget, he said.
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III is set to meet with the Visayan Bloc members, he added.
Their group will vote as a bloc on their common concerns, Benitez said.
Meanwhile, Benitez reiterated that all P255 billion for flood control projects for 2026 has been realigned to other agencies.
This will give the Department of Public Works and Highways time to validate and audit all flood control projects, he said.
They cannot finish the validation in a month, and the budget has to be passed within that time period, Benitez said.
The proposal is to realign P36 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and other amounts to health and housing, he said.
Benitez said there may be a need for a complete overhaul of the DPWH that bears the stigma of corruption, and the changing of its name to show the people that reforms have been initiated.
Those accountable for the theft of government funds should go to jail because this is a grave injustice, Benitez said.*
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