Congress eyes P10-B fund for storm victims

The two houses of Congress have agreed to approve a P10-billion supplemental budget to augment the country’s depleting calamity funds and help the victims of tropical storm Ondoy and past calamities. “We are considering adopting a supplemental budget to help the flood victims not only in Marikina, Cainta and the areas in Laguna that were affected [by Ondoy] but in other provinces as well," Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile told reporters Wednesday. Enrile said a joint resolution is currently being drafted, adding that they would work to approve it before Congress adjourns its session on October 10. The proposal to augment the country’s calamity funds came during a meeting between leaders of Congress and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. at Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City Tuesday night. Teodoro, who also heads the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), noted that the P2-billion calamity fund for this year is now down to P24 million. “The calamity fund of the NDCC is now low but this is being augmented. There is a balance of about P24 million and the balance is still positive," Teodoro said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo. Teodoro said the NDCC’s calamity fund is normally used to rehabilitate areas hit by calamities. He said the fund is separate to the calamity fund of government line agencies for disaster relief and response operations. As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, NDCC reports showed that about 373,675 families or 2,254,915 people have been affected by Ondoy. Of the figure, 78,892 families or 389,616 people are staying in evacuation centers. A total of 246 people have been confirmed dead in the calamity. Not limited to Ondoy victims Enrile said the P10 billion amount, which would be sourced from government bonds, was based on the estimated damages caused not only by Ondoy but also by past calamities. “It’s unfair to deal only with the problems of the victims of Ondoy but leaving the victims of Milenyo and Frank… We have to address the problems of these people," Enrile said. Also considered in determining the amount of the supplemental budget was the government’s borrowing capacity. “If we have to borrow, we have to borrow for our people who are suffering," said Enrile. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was present at the meeting, said 70 percent of the fund would go to the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims of Ondoy while the rest would be for the victims of Milenyo in 2006 and Frank in 2008. He said they also asked Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya to ask President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to release a P150-million fund for the 150,000 poor families affected by Ondoy. This would translate to a P1,000 subsidy for each family to allow them to buy their basic needs at the moment. The fund would be managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), according to Zubiri. - GMANews.TV