Solons decry lack of govt aid, ask Palace to release funds

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers on Thursday asked Malacañang to release billions of pesos worth of funds, including a senator's Priority Development Assistance Fund, for typhoon Frank victims in Western Visayas. At the same time, some lawmakers decried the government's slow response to the needs of typhoon victims. One even said that Iloilo province, which has about 1.5 million residents, got a measly disaster assistance of 250 "family packs" and 1,000 sacks. Sen. Rodolfo Biazon on Thursday said that what is important now is the rehabilitation of Panay Island which produces about 800 metric tons of rice yearly. “There are four provinces for the first time being hit by a typhoon of this magnitude… I think the more important and serious issue is that of rehabilitation," he said. He said that if the entire island is contributing 800 metric tons of rice for the country, then the country lost the same after the typhoon. “Rehabilitation will require the deployment of a lot of funding. I hope Malacañang is listening to me because I am now asking that Malacanang release my PDAF to the four provinces of Panay Island… I would like it to be allocated towards the rehabilitation of the island," he said. Biazon appealed to Malacañang to release his PDAF (more popularly known as pork barrel) which the Department of Budget and Management had been holding for the past four years amounting to P800 million. Each senator is allocated P200 million PDAF from the national budget yearly. Opposition senators complained that their pork barrel has been held hostage by Malacañang for many years now. Biazon said that since Panay Island were severely damaged by typhoon Frank, Malacañang might as well release his PDAF to these provinces. For his part, Sen. Francis Escudero asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to free billions of pesos in impounded funds in the national budget. Escudero identified at least P6.6 worth of funds which if added to the Calamity Fund of P2 billion for the year can aid typhoon victims and repair damaged public infrastructure. "There is no reason why aid should come in trickles to flood-hit areas when there are certain segments in the national budget, other than the Calamity Fund, which can be tapped for disaster work," Escudero said. He identified some these funds as P2- billion Kilos Asenso Fund, the P3.6 -billion financial subsidy to local government units and, P1- billion Kalayaan Barangay Fund. "This is bigger than the $100,000 aid the President got from the US State Department, one which was met with profuse thanks from her, as if she had won the lotto, when in fact she has at her easy disposal all the above-mentioned funds to use in times like this" he said. He added that the funds are classified as "lump-sum" funds and have not been earmarked for any particular area, "so there is flexibility and wider latitude on where to apply these." Escudero said "local government leaders I canvassed have told me that they have yet to receive any allotment from Kilos Asenso or Kalayaan Barangay which means that these funds technically are still on embargo." Earlier, Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron and Iloilo vice gov. Rolex Suplico decried slow government response to the devastation in their province. This was validated by Sen. Ramon “Bong" Revilla Jr. who lashed out at against the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) which he said failed to equally distribute government relief goods to the regions ravaged by the typhoon. Revilla had met Iloilo Governor Niel Tupaz and Iloilo City Mayor Gerry Treñas who both lamented the seeming shortcomings of the national government in their jurisdiction. According to the two local officials, NDCC provided a measly 250 “family packs" of relief goods which consist of three kilos of rice, seven cans of corned beef and seven cans of sardines each for Iloilo City and 1000 thousand sacks of rice for the whole Iloilo province. “We can not prevent the residents of Iloilo and Region 6 as a whole to ask whether there is favoritism on the side of the NDCC if the national government will not address this issue," warned Revilla who noted that the population of Iloilo City is around 400,000 while Iloilo province has more than one and a half million residents. The NDCC reported on Tuesday that Region 6 or Western Visayas was the hardest hit by the typhoon. Aside from Saranggani in Region 12, the provinces of Aklan and Iloilo which is under Region 6 have been placed under a state of calamity. “Honestly, there is dismal support here in Iloilo. We know that there are so many who were affected, but the people here should be given equal attention by the national government. If not, their assistance will only be worthless and they will look inutile," Revilla said. For his part, the lawmaker promised to make representations in Manila and ensure that Iloilo gets the support and assistance it needs. - GMANews.TV