Thousands of people in Central Luzon are now benefiting from 103 completed projects amounting to P142,461,740.48 under the government's Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) program since the program started in Central Luzon in 2014 until 2015.

DILG R-III Regional Director Florida Dijan said that of the 103 completed BuB projects, a total of 55 or 92% of the 60 projects were completed for 2014; and 48 or 40% of the 119 projects were completed for 2015.

These completed projects are improvement/ rehabilitation of roads; rehabilitation of dikes and bridges; potable water system; construction of bridges; purchase of disaster preparedness equipment such as rubber boats and life vest; and improvement of public market, among others.

"Sa aming pag-iikot sa pitong probinsya ng Central Luzon, personal naming nakita at nakapanayam ang mga taong nakinabang sa mga proyektong ito", RD Dijan said. "Nakakataba ng puso ang kanilang paglalahad ng pasasalamat sa gobyerno sa mga proyektong ito", she added.

BuB is a program that strengthens Local Government Units (LGUs) and local communities' participation in national budget formulation and project implementation. "Ang ating mga lokal na komunidad sa pamamagitan ng BuB ay mayroon na ngayong karapatan na mag-propose kung anong proyekto ang kailangang pondohan ng nasyonal upang matugunan ang pangangailangan ng bawat mamamayan sa local level", RD Dijan said.

As stated by DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero, BuB as a reform program has its own birth pains since its conceptualization in 2011 and early stages in 2013 and 2014. The completion rate takes time in improving through the years as projects differ in nature ranging from infrastructure to livelihood.

BuB projects for this year are covered in the 2016 General Appropriations Act (GAA). On the other hand, project proposals of LGUs for BuB 2017 were already submitted to DILG Central Office for integration of local anti-poverty plans into the national budget.