THE WORLD Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) is expected to completely disburse its annual P1.47-billion budget before the end of the year, its Mindanao-based official said last week. Sherwin B. Manual, PRDP-Mindanao Information Unit head, said that as of the first six months of the year, the project has disbursed P1.06 million, or 72% of the total budget for 2018. Mr. Manual said “most of the projects are farm-to-market roads in key areas where there are identified key commodities.” The project sets an average of P10 million per kilometer for road construction. Mr. Manual said among those funded with this year’s budget are 31 completed sub-projects while 69 are ongoing. Last year, the World Bank approved an additional funding of about $450 million for the PRDP, which had an initial P27.5-billion fund composed of 75% from the bank and the rest from the national and local governments. The PRDP, with the Department of Agriculture as lead implementing agency, is a six-year program that started in 2014. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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