MANILA, Dec. 4 — The various departments of the National Government are prepared to respond to the possible entry of Typhoon Hagupit into the Philippines as they have appropriate budgetary support worth P4.69 billion, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
“The departments are equipped with Quick Response Funds (QRFs), standby funds that they can readily access when emergencies or disasters occur. They can use these funds to mobilize the necessary resources and manpower to extend relief and immediate assistance to victims,” Budget Secretary FLorencio ‘Butch’Abad said in a statement.
The following departments have QRFs to draw from in response to the coming typhoon: the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Education; the Department of Health; the Department of National Defense, including the Office of Civil Defense; the Department of Social Welfare and Development; and the Department of Transportation and Communications.
Here is a breakdown of the QRFs per department:
DEPARTMENT AVAILABLE QRFs
Department of Agriculture P 406M
Department of Education P 564M
Department of Health P 500M
Department of National Defense P 448M
Office of Civil Defense (DND) P 764M
Department of Social Welfare and Development P1.01B
Department of Transportation and Communications P1B
TOTAL P4.69B
Because the QRFs are comprehensively released to the departments at the start of the year as part of the GAA-as-release document regime, the departments have the capability to perform emergency response functions without the need to fulfill required conditions and processes that may take time during a disaster, DBM said.
The National Government can also draw from the 2014 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) to deal with the after-effects of Typhoon Hagupit if it hits the Philippines. Additional funds shall likewise be made available once the proposed 2015 National Budget is approved in Congress and signed by the President.
Abad said, “Given our country’s location along the typhoon-belt in the Pacific, the National Government knows it must prepare for any calamity. But we cannot predict the future. That’s why it’s essential that our national budgets have special purpose funds (SPFs) like the QRFs and the NDRRMF to address any contingency.”
Weather forecasts have indicated the possibility that Typhoon Hagupit (local name: Ruby) may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) today Thursday and make landfall over the weekend. (DBM)