Lando's damage: More than all previous 2015 cyclones combined

Typhoon Lando wrecked at least P6.57 billion worth of agriculture and infrastructure as it lumbered across Luzon earlier this week.

 

It is by far the most destructive tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, at least in terms of damage costs. It has already surpassed the combined cost of damages racked up by the tropical cyclones that came before it, from Amang in January to Kabayan earlier this month.

 

Lando damage
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So far, the cost of damages from 2015 tropical cyclones alone is equivalent to more than half of the P20.7 billion disaster-related funds that the government has set aside for calamities this year: namely, the P14-billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRM Fund) and the P6.7-billion Quick Response Fund (QRF).

 

The NDRRM Fund is used for aid, relief and rehabilitation in communities devastated by natural or man-made disasters. It is also tapped for the repair and reconstruction of damaged public infrastructure. Any release charged to the fund requires the President’s approval upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

 

The NDRRM Fund also includes a P1-billion People’s Survival Fund which is intended to finance climate change-related programs and projects in local governments and communities. Improvements in the monitoring of vector-borne diseases and weather forecasting systems are some of the projects that can be charged against this fund.

 

A Department of Budget and Management report shows that P4.96 billion of the NDRRM Fund has been released or otherwise earmarked for use as of end-June 2015. This leaves an adjusted balance of P9.04 billion for the remaining half of the year. 

 

Meanwhile, the QRF is a standby fund built into the budgets of nine government agencies. The Department of Social Welfare and Development has the biggest QRF allocation at P1.325 billion in the 2015 budget. The Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Education, and the Department of Transportation and Communications each have P1 billion. 

 

The other agencies — Department of National Defense, the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, and the National Irrigation Administration — have QRF allocations ranging from P352.5 million up to P530 million. 

 

Intended for pre-disaster mobilization and immediate assistance to disasters or crises, use of the QRF does not require the NDRRMC’s recommendation or the President’s approval.

 

The fund status of the 2015 QRF is not immediately available. 

 

Funds for past disasters 

 

In 2014, the national budget included a a P20-billion appropriation for the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program. As a separate item on top of the usual NDRRM Fund and QRF, the amount was earmarked specifically to aid rehabilitation efforts in areas affected by major disasters such as Super Typhoon Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake in 2013.

 

The appropriation still has an adjusted balance of P2.3 billion as of end-June 2015. 

 

Another P1 billion was appropriated for the same program under the 2015 budget. The amount is intended to cover the implementation of various projects: building housing for indigent families, reconstructing public structures, restoring public utilities, replanting crops, and providing livelihood projects and activities. 

 

The GAA further specified that the fund for the program shall be used and released exclusively for rehab efforts in areas affected by the Zamboanga Siege and past tropical cyclones Labuyo, Odette, Pablo, Santi, Sendong, and Vinta, aside from those devastated by the Bohol Quake and Super Typhoon Yolanda. —JST, GMA News