DBM releases P1 billion for typhoon-hit LGUs

The Budget department on Friday said it has released the initial P1 billion in assistance for local government units (LGUs) affected by typhoon Odette.

In a press release on Friday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the money released will assist affected LGUs in Western, Central and Eastern Visayas, Mimaropa (consisting of the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan), Northern Mindanao and the Caraga Administrative Region.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Tuesday declared a state of calamity in these six regions affected by the typhoon to speed up aid delivery and relief efforts.

DBM said it allocated funding based on the number of people affected and the infrastructure and agriculture damage inflicted by the typhoon.

Western Visayas was allotted P207.25 million, while Central Visayas will be given P188.31 million and Mimaropa with P171.57 million.

Meanwhile, the Caraga region will be given P167.38 million and Eastern Visayas will get P142.5 million. Lastly, Northern Mindanao will receive P122.99 million.

“The total funding requirement was charged from the financial year 2021 contingent fund and shall be released directly by the Bureau of Treasury to the concerned local government units (LGUs) through their respective authorized government servicing banks,” DBM said.

Budget Officer-in-Charge Tina Rose Marie L. Canda on Thursday said the money would be released from the president’s contingent fund.

Mr. Duterte earlier this week said he would spend P10 billion for typhoon recovery efforts.

While P2 billion is available under the national disaster risk management fund, another P2 billion will come from the president’s contingency or special purpose fund, Ms. Canda told a news briefing on Wednesday.

The remaining P6 billion is expected to come from the 2022 national budget.

CALL FOR CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Meanwhile, Greenpeace Philippines called on the government to craft a comprehensive blueprint to address the climate emergency. The group said the Philippines needs a “strategy beyond disaster response that would address long term vulnerabilities, not just catastrophes.

“Continued lack of action on the climate crisis is unacceptable. This is the second year in a row that a supertyphoon left hundreds of thousands of Filipinos homeless, and scrambling to bury the dead. In the past decade, Filipinos have seen the worst typhoons occur year after year. How many more climate disasters do we have to endure before urgent solutions are put in place,” Greenpeace campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin said in a statement. — Jenina P. Ibañez