Gov’t still has P6.8-B calamity fund

MANILA, Philippines - The government still has P6.8 billion in calamity funds that can be used to address the devastation left by the massive floods from the monsoon rains caused by Tropical Storm Maring, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said yesterday.

Abad added the public could notice that despite massive floods that occurred due to torrential rains, water was receding fast because of some flood-control projects that had been completed.

According to Abad, good fiscal and economic management allowed the government to generate savings due to lower interest rates for debts. He added the allocations for debt service had also been decreasing vis-a-vis the gross domestic product.

He said tax collections had also been improving and gave the administration bigger fiscal space for various programs.

“For example, next year the (budget) for flood control will reach P27 billion,” Abad said.

He noted the flood-control projects such as megadikes and retarding basins announced by President Aquino in Laguna and Cavite when he visited typhoon victims in evacuation centers earlier this week. 

Aside from the P6.8-billion Calamity Fund, Abad said the government has also the P680 million contingency fund while the departments and agencies could likewise tap their respective Quick Reaction Fund for relief operations and rehabilitation.

“They need not go to the President and immediately, they can directly help those in need,” Abad said. – With Celso Amo, Jaime Laude, Eva Visperas, Teddy Molina, Michelle Zoleta