President Rodrigo Duterte urged Congress to pass a P30-billion supplemental budget to help communities affected by the Taal volcano eruption.
In his speech on Monday, Duterte said: “I will ask Congress to expedite [the fund] to cover P30 billion…if it will be approved I guarantee every centavo of it will go to you. This is not a promise, but just the job of the government.”
He urged lawmakers to allocate another P20 billion for the construction of evacuation centers in disaster-prone areas like Samar, Isabela, and Cagayan.
He made the appeal during ceremonial distribution of calamity aid to the families affected by the Taal Volcano Eruption in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday said several municipalities affected by the Taal Volcano eruption last week are now seeking additional funding after they have depleted their calamity funds.
In an interview, Interior undersecretary Epimaco Densing told BusinessMirror that Balayan and two other municipalities in Batangas have reported they already exhausted their calamity funds.
“They already sent a verbal request [for additional funding]. I advised them to go to the province first since it has its DRMMC (Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council) fund, which they request. Once that is depleted that is the only time the national government can come in,” Densing said.
He said many of the areas that were affected by the eruption may also be suffering a similar situation.
Based on data from the Office Civil Defense (OCD), there are currently 416 evacuation centers for Taal Volcano victims.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said a total of 53,716 families or 215,773 individuals are staying in the said evacuation centers.
“This [eruption] is very burdensome for them because January is usually the month when local officials collect business taxes and ammaliare. But [after the disaster] they were unable to do this in their areas,” Densing said during a media briefing in Malacañang on Monday.
He said they are asking for additional funding from Congress to help address the needs of their evacuees and for the rehabilitation of communities around Taal volcano.
“I would like to announce that [House] Speaker Alan Cayeteno has already called upon us at the DILG to meet with him at the soonest possible time so that we can talk about the assistance that Congress can give to the situation right now. So, hopefully, we can get additional funding through Congress or funds for the Office of the President,” Densing said.
OCD assistant secretary Casiano Monilla said the government has a P3-billion contingency fund available for the government’s disaster response.
He said interested LGUs could tap the fund through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) but their requests would need validation.