Reconstruction of classrooms and immediate relief for displaced residents in quake-stricken Mindanao could be financed through more than P180 billion already lodged within this year’s national budget, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian.
The lawmaker singled out education as among the hardest-hit sectors, pointing to the number of school buildings across the region left damaged when the earthquake struck. To address this, he said the Department of Education’s P4.08 billion under its Disaster Preparedness and Response Program is available, alongside the agency’s P67 billion earmarked this year for building classrooms and expanding school infrastructure.
Gatchalian put the total at P180.482 billion, drawn from a spread of agency budgets and special-purpose funds. Among these is the P46.778 billion sitting under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances program, plus P32.307 billion from the Local Government Support Fund’s financial assistance window for local government units.
Other pools he identified include P17.898 billion still untapped in the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, P15.897 billion held in the Contingent Fund, and P8.163 billion pooled from the Quick Response Funds of several national agencies.
For Gatchalian, the urgency lies in getting the money out the door without delay.
“What is important is that we use these funds immediately because many of our countrymen are affected and need immediate assistance from the government,” he said.
