Most Taal rehab and recovery projects remain unfunded a year after eruption

Over a year after the eruption of Taal Volcano, most of the projects for the rehabilitation of the area and its people have yet to start due to a lack of government funding, an official reported Wednesday.

In a briefing with the House of Representatives, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) assistant regional director for Calabarzon Gina Gacusan said there were a total of 1,347 projects proposed for the recovery efforts.

The projects had a cumulative worth of P41.902 billion: P9.481 billion for agriculture and fisheries; P3.749 billion for tourism and other livelihood programs; P11.541 billion for housing and settlements; P1.850 billion for social services; and P15.279 billion for physical infrastructure.

Out of the total projects, only 88 have been completed while 75 are ongoing. There were 27 funded in 2020 but have yet to start, 41 included in this year's national budget, and 25 proposed under the 2022 budget.

"We find that 1,091 projects are still to be proposed for funding. In terms of financial accomplishment, only 1% of P41.9 billion that we have identified has actually been completed," Gacusan said.

Data reported by Gacusan showed that as of December 2020, there have been no settlement projects completed so far, even as there were 490,333 persons affected and 2,520 families displaced by the Taal eruption.

Out of the 94 proposed settlement and housing projects, only eight are ongoing and another eight have been proposed to be funded by this year's budget.

"We still have a big amount actually for fund sourcing," Gavusan added, noting that 78 projects have yet to secure any funds.

To recall, Taal Volcano on January 12 last year spewed ash in a phreatic eruption, causing the displacements of thousands and an estimated P8.42 billion in economic losses.

This, along with the lockdowns imposed in March 2020 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, were among the reasons for the Philippine economy to fall into negative territory in the first quarter of 2020. This was the first contraction reported since 1998. — BM, GMA News