Reconstruction commission to hold talks with donors

MANILA, Philippines - The Public-Private Sector Reconstruction Commission is scheduled to hold a dialogue with international donors early next month after the completion of the final assessment of the damage caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

Representatives of major lending institutions led by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, among others, are scheduled to attend the dialogue with the public-private sector commission on Dec. 2.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, chairman of the Special National Public Reconstruction Commission (SNPRC), said the international donor community has expressed overwhelming support for the country’s reconstruction efforts.

The Public-Private Sector Reconstruction Commission met with some of the donors yesterday to generate funding assistance for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of areas affected by the recent calamities.

Teves said sustained cooperation among the government, private sector, and international donors is crucial for the country’s speedy and comprehensive response to calamities.

“We believe that becoming resilient to the physical, social and economic effects of natural disasters is equally important as the economy’s resiliency to adverse market movements,” he added.

Teves said the commission’s priority undertakings include relocation, housing, and livelihood; reforestation or restoration; waste water cleaning; civil works or infrastructure and social services; finance and resource mobilization; and communication or media.

Defense Undersecretary Ernesto Carolina reported that total damage from Ondoy and Pepeng has already reached more than P38.7 billion, with agricultural damage estimated at P27.2 billion and infrastructure at P11.1 billion.

For his part, Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) chairman Manny Pangilinan assured donors that there would be transparency and accountability in the utilization of funds for reconstruction.

“Through it all, our work will be undertaken with the relevant governance protocol which guides and governs private corporations – to imbue and inform these social tasks with the discipline, accountability, and the transparency of private sector initiatives,” Pangilinan said.

The reconstruction bodies, with assistance from development partners, will set up a transparent monitoring system for all projects and funds under their watch. The system will utilize best practices from major disaster assistance programs in the region.

Earlier, the World Bank (WB) raised the possibility of re-allocating and providing additional financing of about $400 million for the reconstruction programs of the government.

The WB also presented an update on the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), which is a joint undertaking of government agencies and development partners.

The PDNA, which will be completed by the end of this month, will determine the extent of the damage and the losses wrought by Ondoy and Pepeng as well as identify measures for recovery and reconstruction.

The United Nations-Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) reported that its Philippine Flash Appeal for $74 million was 36.2 percent funded, with total donations amounting to $26 million.

“Funding shortfalls are still significant and continued donor support is needed as the current operation is in the process of being revised to include emergency and recovery needs of the most vulnerable groups,” UN Development Program Resident Representative Jacqui Badcock said.