LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — Expect more infrastructure projects in the province with several included in the proposed General Appropriations Act of 2027.
Rep. Eric Go Yap, during the Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat para sa Lahat at the Benguet Sports Complex in La Trinidad, said several infrastructure projects will be included in the proposed 2027 budget targeting critical road repairs, public venue upgrades, and agricultural cold storage facilities across the province.
Yap stressed the urgent need to address heavy road damage caused by the southwest monsoon (habagat), specifically calling for road cuts, concrete paving, and slope protection along key transit routes in Atok and Beckel, La Trinidad.
The solon added that Quick Response Funds (QRF) will also be needed during the rainy season to repair landslide-hit highways instantly, noting that Benguet’s mountainous terrain faces far worse long-term isolation than lowland areas during calamity period.
“When it floods in the lowlands, after one day, the flood recedes and people return to their normal lives,” Yap said in Filipino. “For us, after the heavy rains, we get landslides that tear down our main national highways, so we need quick response funding to repair them immediately.”
Yap added the proposed infrastructure package includes additional funding to complete and upgrade the Benguet Convention Center, alongside ₱80 million dedicated to the rehabilitation of the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post.
To safeguard the highland agricultural economy, Yap outlined proposed budget allocations under the Department of Agriculture for new farm-to-market roads and the construction of cold storage and food processing facilities at the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (BAPTC).
Yap also thanked Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. for supporting the initiative, emphasizing that post-harvest facilities are badly needed during bad weather to keep produce from spoiling when main transport arteries are cut off.
The solon clarified that all proposed projects undergo local clearance through municipal councils, the Provincial Development Council, and the Regional Development Council before being submitted for national review.
“My job is to submit the vetted proposals from our local officials—our mayors, board members, and governor—and it is up to the national government to validate these projects and hopefully fund them,” Yap said. NLMonitor
