MANILA (2ND UPDATE) - Former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Sunday claimed that 93 percent of Yolanda-related rehabilitation projects assigned to the Department of the Interior and Local Government has already been completed.

Roxas noted that as of end-2015, more than P90 billion in funds has been released for rehabilitation projects in areas affected by typhoon Yolanda. Of that P90 billion, P4 billion was allocated to the DILG, he said.

The funds were then allocated "to the last centavo" to provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays to fix municipal halls, evacuation centers, civic centers, multi-purpose halls, and markets.

"P4 billion 'yan na dumaan sa DILG. As of now, mahigit 93 percent na ang completed d'yan sa mga projects na 'yan," Roxas said.

The former DILG chief said the projects do not address the housing problem in Yolanda-affected areas.

"Tama na ba 'yan? Hindi pa. Meron pa ring nangangailangan lalo na sa housing. Ang alam ko, sa 2016, there is P46 billion na ire-release. D'yan sa P46 billion na 'yan, P30 billion po ay mapupunta sa NHA [National Housing Authority] para magpatayo ng mga bahay para dito sa mga nasalanta ng Yolanda. 'Yan ang aking pagkaalam," he said.

"Ang importante dito ay ang ating no-build zone. Napakahalaga po na hindi natin hayaan na manatili sila sa mga mapanganib na lugar. Dalhin natin sila sa mga mas ligtas na lugar para hindi mauulit 'yung mga nangyari sa Yolanda."

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte seemed to disagree with Roxas at first. "I disagree. The [Commission on Audit] says, of the total money, 33 percent have been completed. 33.7 percent and'yan on deck ang pera about to be started ang project. Then 37 percent wala pa," Duterte said.

Roxas was quick to clarify that he was only talking about funds funneled through the DILG.

"Baka iba ang tinutukoy ni Mayor Duterte. Dahil doon po sa same COA (report), doon sa dumaan sa DILG, mahigit 90% na po ang natapos. Nakatayo po d'yan, may listahan po d'yan. Mga lugar po 'yan, may mga inauguration po 'yan. Lahat po 'yan ay nagawa. 'Yung perang dumaan sa DILG na humigit-kumulang ay P4 billon," he explained.

Duterte was quick to own up his mistake, saying he got lost along the way.

"I would like to apologize. You were talking about the billions downloaded to DILG. I was talking about all the money. I'm sorry. I got lost along the way," he said.

WERE ALL PROJECTS COMPLETED?

While it is true that more than P4 billion was allocated to DILG for the Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY), Roxas' statement during the debate gave the impression that 93% of all DILG projects under said P4B allocation are already completed.

This is not entirely true.

A Department of Public Works and Highways report on the Typhoon Yolanda rehabilitation and recovery infrastructure cluster showed that DILG "completed 292 out of 309 projects for the repair/rehabilitation of partially-damaged LGU Facilities (Municipal Halls, Public Markets, Civic Centers) under DILG Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) Batch 1."

The Facebook page of Recovery Assistance on Yolanda - RAY DILG also show that DILG has so far completed 301 of 309 projects as of January 28, 2016. The projects include 102 municipal halls, 103 public markets and 96 civic centers.

Status of RAY Batch 1 & 2 projects as of January 28, 2016. #YolandaPH

Posted by Recovery Assistance on Yolanda - RAY DILG on Friday, 12 February 2016

However, further research shows that the DILG Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) Batch 1 projects only accounts for P2.01 billion of the P4.48 billion released to the DILG.

The remaining P2.48 billion is allocated for the second batch of DILG Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) projects.

As of January 2016, RAY Batch 1 is 95% complete but RAY Batch 2 is just at 42%.

Per DBM SAROs, P4.48 billion in funds were allocated to DILG for Yolanda rehabilitation projects as of Oct. 31, 2015. The SAROs were released in two tranches:

2013 - P2.01B
2014 - P2.47B

Source: http://www.dbm.gov.ph/?page_id=14171

But actual cash releases to DILG came much later.

In a press release dated Jan. 14, 2016, DILG Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento said the first batch of funds amounting to P1.24 billion was released to LGUs in April 2014. Under the first batch of projects, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) also implemented the rehabilitation of 13 totally-damaged municipal facilities amounting to P494.45 million.

Funding for "RAY Batch 2 projects amounting to Php1.57B was released only last May 2015."

Under Recovery Assistance on Yolanda, the DILG is in charge of providing "financing assistance to support the rehabilitation/repair of partially-damaged LGU-owned facilities/structures (provincial/city/municipal halls, public markets, civic centers, barangay halls, barangay day care centers, barangay civic centers)."

"The RAY Project provides support and assistance to local government units (LGUs) most affected by super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). These LGUs are in the provinces of Palawan, Masbate, Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Cebu, Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte and Samar," the RAY website said.

RAY-DILG's FB page also features a slide dated Jan. 28, 2016, that states:

RAY BATCH 1: Total no. of projects 309 (repair and rehab of 102 Municipal Halls, 103 Public Markets, 96 Civic Centers)
Completed: 301
Ongoing: 8

RAY BATCH 2: Total no. of projects 3,626
Completed: 765 (repair and rehab of 385 Brgy Halls, 262 Brgy day Care Centers, 118 Brgy Civic Centers)
Ongoing: 1,054
Under Preparation: 468
Procurement: 1,339

There is also a third batch of projects for the Recovery Assistance on Yolanda program.

According to DPWH, as of Sept. 15, 2015, validation is ongoing for proposed Local Roads and Bridge projects under RAY. These include 480 projects in eight provinces with indicative costs amounting to P3.474 billion.