There is ample government funding for emergency relief aid and rehabilitation services to communities impacted by the seasonal monsoon and Typhoon Carina, House Minority Leader Nonoy Libanan said.
“In the 2024 General Appropriations Law, Congress earmarked the sum of P20.5 billion for the Calamity Fund to provide relief augmentation, such as cash aid and shelter assistance,” Libanan, a 4Ps party-list representative, explained.
“The Calamity Fund also covers the repair and restoration of damaged vital public structures.”
“The Calamity Fund also covers the repair and restoration of damaged vital public structures such as school buildings, hospitals, roads, bridges and seaports, among others,” the legislator said.
“In fact, we expect rebuilding activities to help create construction-related jobs that will benefit low-income households,” the lawmaker said.
He also said the various government departments have Quick Response Fund (QRF) allocations lodged in their respective budgets for disaster recovery.
Libanan named the departments with QRF allocations as follows:
· Department of Education (P3 billion);
· Department of Social Welfare and Development (P1.75 billion);
· Department of Public Works and Highways (P1 billion);
· Department of Agriculture (P1 billion);
· Department of Health (P500 million);
· Department of National Defense (P500 million);
· Department of Transportation-Philippine Coast Guard (P75 million); and
· Department of the Interior and Local Government (P50 million each for the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection).
“The Calamity Fund will replenish the QRF allocations of the various departments, as needed.”
He said the Calamity Fund “will replenish the QRF allocations of the various departments, as needed”.
The last two typhoons to hit the Philippines – Carina and Butchoy – adversely affected more than 3.3 million people countrywide.
The severe weather events caused extensive damage to public infrastructure, farm harvests and private property, mainly on account of widespread flash flooding, coastal storm surges and landslides.
A total of 104 cities and municipalities, including the whole of Metro Manila, are now under a state of calamity.
Camp Crame reported that the death toll from monsoon rains aggravated by Carina has climbed to 34.
