EDITORIAL - Repaying kindness

Nine months after Super Typhoon Yolanda left thousands dead and destroyed billions worth of crops and property in the Visayas, the Philippines continues to need foreign assistance in the massive reconstruction effort.

There was an avalanche of international aid shortly after Yolanda struck. Since then, there have been other calamities around the world, and the flow of foreign aid for the disaster zones in the Visayas has inevitably slowed down. Still, foreign presence in the reconstruction area remains considerable. Multilateral aid organizations, many of the advanced economies and the country’s allies continue to be engaged in the effort to build back better in the disaster zones.

The best way to sustain this assistance is to ensure that all funds for rebuilding are fully accounted for and properly utilized. Transparency and close scrutiny of fund utilization must not mean interminable delays in the rebuilding.

Last week the Commission on Audit, in cooperation with the Australian government, unveiled new guidelines for disaster risk reduction and management accounting and reporting. The guidelines, according to the COA, are meant to ensure that all disaster-related funds and donations both foreign and local are properly accounted for and utilized efficiently.

With the World Bank and Asian Development Bank alone committing about $2 billion for the relief and reconstruction effort, those rules must be strictly followed. The agency or public official responsible for fund utilization at every step must be clearly identified. To encourage speed in implementation, reasonable time frames can be set. This should be possible even as authorities make sure there will be no corruption in the utilization of disaster funds.

The international community continues to show willingness to help. The best way to repay this kindness is to utilize disaster funds with full transparency and efficiency. It won’t be the last time that the nation will turn to the world for help. The last thing we need is a scandal involving aid for the disaster zones.