TIEZA provides 100 million PHP in initial funding for Burnham’s rehabilitation

DT | TIEZA provides 100 million PHP in initial funding for Burnham’s rehabilitation | BAGUIO CITY – As a start, the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) can give at least 100 million Philippine pesos to help fix up Burnham Park. This is 25 percent of the 400 million Philippine pesos that the TIEZA Board cleared before the pandemic.

Mark Lapid, the chief operating officer of TIEZA, said in an interview on Monday that the agency could not give the money right away because of the pandemic and the government’s need for money because of it.

“We’ll start putting it into action as soon as we get the money,” he advised.

Lapid said that they and the city government decided to put some parts of the plan for rehabilitation at the top of the list so that when the project is finished, it can “already be used.”

“We don’t want development to happen in stages, so they have to set priorities,” he said in an interview while he was in Baguio with his father, Sen. Lito Lapid, to help 533 families and students get help.

“The economy is regaining” and “money is coming in,” he said.

“So, we hope to start development projects soon,” he said.

Lapid also said that talks with the Asian Development Bank are about to start about fixing up the city’s sewage and water treatment plant.

The loans are backed by TIEZA, so if the city doesn’t pay, TIEZA will, and the money will still come from the government, so we still need the NEDA and the Department of Finance, he said.

TIEZA also wants to build a program for the Mt. Data Hotel in Mountain Province and the Banaue Hotel in Ifugao, in addition to the projects in Baguio. (via PNA)