Aussie road improvement project in three more provinces

MANILA, Philippines - Three provinces in southern Philippines will soon have improved road conditions through an innovative partnership between Australia and the Philippines.

Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo recently launched the Philippines Provincial Road Management Facility in three more provinces – Aklan, Davao del Norte and Lanao del Norte.

The five-year, P4.3-billion (A$100 million) management facility helps provincial governments upgrade and then maintain their core road network.

The program started in seven partner provinces: Bohol, Guimaras, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental. After showing early results, Australia decided to extend the program to three more provinces.

“In partnership with the DILG and provincial governments, Australia is working to improve the quality of roads across the country. Roads upgraded by the program are cutting transportation costs and increasing access of poor Filipinos to basic services, such as schools and health clinics,” Tweddell said.

While a large portion of the program’s funds will be spent on road rehabilitation and maintenance, the program is also supporting local governance reforms to improve the quality and efficiency of public service delivery to communities. Provinces compete for extra resources through the program’s incentive mechanism by progressing reforms in the key governance areas of planning and budgeting, procurement, internal audit, human resource development and increasing locally-generated revenues.

“Australia’s use of incentives aligns strongly with President Aquino’s performance-based approach to fast-track local governance reforms. Our partner provinces are building momentum and introducing good governance reforms. They are increasing their revenues to fund essential services to the poor. Their budgets are more transparent and allow for easier expenditure tracking,” Tweddell said.

The Facility has so far completed 14 road rehabilitation projects, benefitting at least 51,000 people and delivering material economic and social benefits to the communities.