P23B set for typhoon rehab under 2021 budget —Yap

Around P23 billion has been realigned under the proposed P4.5 trillion national budget for 2021 for the rehabilitation of communities affected by the recent strong typhoons that hit the country, House Committee on Appropriations chair Eric Yap said Wednesday.

Yap made the remark after the bicameral conference committee on the 2021 budget approved its report on the proposed allocation for next year.

"I think almost P23 billion yung mga nilipat namin within the agency rin yun," Yap told reporters when asked how much was allocated for the rehabilitation of communities hit by typhoons Rolly and Ulysses.

According to Yap, the P23-billion allocation was sourced from the funding intended for projects and programs that are deemed "unimplementable" and are least needed.

These unimplementable projects, he added, are the ones that the Department of Public Works and Highways was not able to validate.

"Tinitignan namin unang-una yung mga hindi implementable, yung mga least na kailangan at nilipat namin sa mga provinces like Cagayan tulad ng iba pa sa Bicol, [sa] Albay, doon namin nilagay yung mga infra, mga roads, mga kailangan nila," he said.

"Kung makikita naman natin na-wipe out lahat ng mga kalsada. At hindi lang naman sila binaha. After nung baha sigurado sira yung mga kalsada nila," he added.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco earlier said the House contingent to 2021 budget bicam would ensure that sufficient funding for the rehabilitation and recovery of communities affected by the recent typhoons will be included in the bicam version of the budget bill, as well as for the other priority programs of the government like "Build, Build, Build."

"Our goal is to get the 2021 General Appropriations Bill on the President’s desk for his signature before the year ends, so we can prevent a reenacted budget that will not bode well for the economy and the entire nation," he said.

The Senate and the House are expected to ratify the bicam report on the 2021 budget in their plenary sessions this afternoon. —KBK, GMA News