The local government of Quezon City is extending a P36-million aid to storm-hit areas in the Cagayan Valley region that were severely affected by Supertyphoon Lawin last year.
The City Council has passed Resolution 7246-2017, introduced by Councilors Ramon P. Medalla and Franz S. Pumaren, authorizing Mayor Herbert M. Bautista to release P36.7 million in financial and humanitarian support to the cities of Ilagan in Isabela, Tabuk in Apayao, Tuguegarao in Cagayan and the municipality of Pinukpuk in Kalinga.
The amount, which will be taken from Quezon City’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) fund, will be used in the repair and restoration of various government infrastructure and facilities.
Under Republic Act 10121, or the Philippine DRRM Act of 2010, local government units (LGU) are allowed to use portions of unused DRRM fund to support other LGUs that were declared under state of calamity.
Quezon City’s action came after the local chief executives in Cagayan Valley wrote to Bautista to formally request financial assistance in the recovery efforts of their respective areas.
Bautista is the immediate past president of the League of Cities of the Philippines.
Classified as a Category 5 typhoon, Lawin (international name Haima) was considered the strongest typhoon to hit Cagayan Valley in 2016.
Five percent of Quezon City’s annual gross total income, or an estimated P65 million, is regularly funnelled to its disaster fund. The amount was based on actual activation of the local government’s disaster-preparedness office in 2013.
Quezon City has its own geo-spatial map handed over by Earthquake and Megacities Initiative (EMI) after a year of consultancy contract. EMI conducted trainings and workshop on city emergency-response operation.
EMI also developed the Quezon City Risk Atlas, which the city government could utilize in times of emergency.
