Senators open to House’s push for P5-B hike in calamity fund for 2021

At least three senators on Monday agreed with the House of Representative's call to increase the proposed calamity fund in 2021 by at least P5 billion more.

Senator Sonny Angara, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, said he would be amenable to the congressmen's suggestion if they take it up during the the bicameral conference committee meetings.

"[It] shouldn’t be a problem to agree on that or maybe even higher given recent events," Angara said in a message.

The House version of the general appropriations bill earmarked P20 billion for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund or the Calamity Fund.

It was augmented by P1 billion more in the Senate Committee on Finance's report.

During Angara's sponsorship of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget to the Senate plenary, he mentioned that the Calamity Fund, and the Quick Response Funds lodged under different government agencies would amount to a total of around P27 billion.

Senator Panfilo Lacson also said that aside from the P5 billion increase in the Calamity Fund, he is also pushing for a direct assistance to local government units that were hardest hit by Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses.

He said among the budget amendments he submitted to the Finance Committee was the creation of a separate item amounting to P20 billion under the Allocation to Local Government Units-Local Government Support Fund.

This amount shall specifically be used for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction effort, according to the senator.

"The Department of the Interior and Local Government has been required to provide my office a list of the itemized PAP’s (Programs, Activities and Projects) to be funded by the P20 billion as a requirement for the utilization of the said amount," Lacson added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon agreed that bigger appropriations should be placed under calamity funds. He said this is a better move than creating a new department for disaster resilience.

"What we need is additional funds for disaster response or calamity funds, not an additional bureaucracy. You know, you spend P1.5 billion in terms of salaries and MOOEs (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) per department you create," he said in an interview on ANC.

The Senate is expected to open the period of amendments for the national budget on Thursday, November 26, with the possibility of approving it on second and third readings on the same day.

If this schedule would be followed, the bicameral conference committee meetings may run from November 28 to December 3, and a bicam report may be signed on December 9. — RSJ, GMA News