BUTUAN CITY – In line with the economic development in Southern Philippines, at least five provinces in Mindanao have been chosen for road maintenance funding by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid).

The five provinces chosen to benefit in this project are Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte in the Caraga Region), and the provinces of Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental in Region 10, it was learned.

The DILG together with the AusAid already signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) during separate occasions with the concerned local government units (LGUs) in the said five provinces.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith and DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero sealed the partnership with the concerned LGUs in the five provinces in the Caraga Region and Region 10.

The MoA entered into is for the Provincial Road Management Facility (PRMF) program.

It was gathered that PRMF is a governance reform program that will use road maintenance funding as an incentive to change.

The project will provide funding to selected provinces for building capacity of key provincial departments for improved asset management, selective rehabilitation of existing core provincial roads and bridges and maintenance of core provincial roads in conjunction with national, municipal and barangay (village) roads.

The PRMF process was a rigorous one, but the commitment to road maintenance and the dedication to good governance by the provinces were also considered as basis in selecting the provinces.

Panadero said that Region 10 and the Caraga Region are blessed to be the provinces included in the roster of beneficiaries for the PRMF project.

He said the project aims to form synergy in the Northern and Northeastern Mindanao provinces.