AN additional P1.5-billion augmentation fund will soon be made available for areas devastated by the recent typhoons.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it will be sourcing the regular National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM) fund.
Budget Assistant Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said the additional budget will be given to areas in Calabarzon, Mimaropa and the Bicol Region, which will be placed under state of national calamity after being hit by typhoons Quinta [international name: Molave] and Rolly [international name: Goni].
“This is equivalent to 1 percent of their IRA [Internal Revenue Allotment] and takes into consideration the estimated amount of damage, the actual number of affected population based from the reports of OCD [Office of Civil Defense] and DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development], respectively,” De Leon said during the situation briefing of President Duterte in Camarines Sur on Sunday.
He explained the budget will be released as soon as it is approved by the Office of the President.
Duterte said he wants the said funds to be released as soon as possible to give the necessary government relief to typhoon victims.
A similar additional funding is now also being considered for the provinces of the Cagayan Valley Region, which suffered extensive damage also after Ulysses (international name: Vamco) spawned considerable rainfall, prompting the release of dam waters.
De Leon said DBM made the proposal in consideration of the diminished or already depleted calamity funds of the typhoon-affected LGUs as they struggled the past eight months to respond to their constituents’ needs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In anticipation of the possible additional budgetary needs of areas devastated by Typhoon Ulysses and other typhoons that may hit the country before year-end, the budget official said they opted to infuse the NDRRM fund with P10 billion for the second time this year.
The government now has P11.774 billion available in NDRRM funds following the replenishment.
The concerned LGUs may tap the fund by requesting it through these agencies: Department of Agriculture; Department of Health; Department of Education; OCD; Department of Public Works and Highways; Department of Social Welfare and Development; and National Irrigation Authority.
De Leon gave assurances of quick action “as soon as we receive requests from these agencies for replenishment of their QRF [quick response funds]…so they could continue providing the services to our people, who are affected by the typhoons.”
Binay: LGUs drained
Stressing that their resources and manpower have been “stretched to the limits,” former Vice President Jejomar C. Binay on Sunday called on the national government to immediately augment the calamity funds of LGUs in the areas affected by Supertyphoon Rolly and Typhoon Ulysses.
“The national government should immediately act to augment the calamity funds of LGUs. [The funds are almost depleted because of the aid they extended during the Covid-19 lockdown and the typhoons],” he said.
Binay, a former Makati city mayor, noted that while the DBM said it will release P1.9 billion to the affected areas, the amount will be disbursed to national government agencies.
Likewise, he said the balance of P1.7 billion from the remaining P3.6-billion NDRRM Fund may not be enough, considering the extent of damage caused by the typhoons throughout Luzon.
“The national government should give immediate aid to those who provide aid. They are tired but they continue to serve,” he added, partly in Filipino.
The former Vice President said it would be difficult for these LGUs, whose resources are stretched to almost breaking point, to endure the expected arrival of more typhoons. Their problems are aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the high risk of infection in evacuation centers and in communities, he added.
Binay added that the national government should work to facilitate the release of these badly-needed funds directly to the LGUs, and avoid the bureaucratic bottlenecks that delayed the release of funds to government agencies dealing with the pandemic.
“The unconscionable delays in the release of the Bayanihan 2 funds should not be repeated in dispensing funding assistance to these already-distressed LGUs,” he said.
Earlier, the DBM released only P3.545 billion of the P140-billion emergency pandemic response under Bayanihan 2.
Customers in the dark
Also on Sunday, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reported that 170,000 of its customers remain without electricity.
From a high of 3.8 million customers at the height of Typhoon Ulysses, the affected customer count has gone down to 170,303 as of 5 a.m. of November 15 in areas that include parts of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Pampanga, Batangas and Quezon Province. The number represents 2.53 percent of Meralco’s total customer count.
Restoration is taking a little longer for areas with severe flooding and where Meralco’s distribution facilities sustained heavy damages such as toppled poles, downed wires and damaged transformers.
“Rest assured, our line crews will continue with the restoration works. We appeal for everyone’s continuous understanding and patience, as our crews work to bring back power service at the soonest possible time,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
Meanwhile, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) said electricity has been fully restored to 168 out of 427 cities and municipalities spread over the coverage areas of 40 electric cooperatives (ECs) in 24 provinces in Regions I, II, III, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). The initial cost of damage to power facilities of affected ECs due to the typhoon has reached P70.794 million.
Meanwhile, seven transmission lines are still unavailable as of November 15. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has deployed its line crews and is conducting aerial and foot patrols to assess the damage to its facilities.