Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the supplemental budget for 2014 worth P22.4 billion has been a huge help to the national government’s effort to the continue the rehabilitation efforts in the Supertyphoon Yolanda-affected areas in the Visayas.
He said part of the funds worth P8 billion will go to the budget of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council that handles the reconstruction and rebuilding programs in the hardest-hit areas in the Visayas.
He said the supplemental budget complements the 2015 national budget allocation worth P21.7 billion for the “Build Back Better” project that integrates a preventive approach with efforts that focus on climate-change adaptation and mitigation and disaster-risk reduction management actions and interventions.
“Our country’s natural resources not only shower us with abundant riches but also provide us with a natural defense against typhoons and storms. That’s why proper management of resources is part of the administration’s strategy in climate-change mitigation to safeguard our countrymen against future calamities,” said Abad in a statement. Some P11 billion will cover the 2014 National Risk Reduction and Management Fund.
Estrella Torres