Calls for a meeting with budget officials as most funds already spent for COVID response
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte made a commitment to release around P2 billion to typhoon-devastated areas in Visayas and Mindanao region as he visited some of the areas hit by the super typhoon over the weekend.
“I can release more or less 2 billion. So this amount will be divided among all the areas that were hit by the typhoon. We’ll see if we can release it sooner, I can promise you this,” President Duterte said during a situation briefing in Maasin City in Southern Leyte held on Saturday, Dec. 18, but was aired Sunday morning, Dec. 19.
“It’s worth billions but it’s not actually enough to cover the devastation. If you were to give help to everyone in one area and make reparations for the damage, that amount won’t suffice. But with that amount, you can divide it amongst yourselves.”
Duterte said that even if government funds are almost depleted, he would try to find more money for the typhoon victims.
Local governments in hardest hit areas can initially use the amount for their needs and address other damages later, according to the President.
President Duterte also promised the people that the assistance from the national government will arrive. But he appealed for patience as his government prepares the necessary paperwork for the release of the funds.
“Just give us a bit more time because if you’re from the government, there’ll be plenty of paperwork,” he said. “For every move you make, there’s a layer of papers that are… This is the way it is with government. And if you try to rush things, there’ll be some problems.”
Duterte said that there there’s not much allocation left in the government funds since it’s already the end of the year and a huge part of government’s savings was spent for COVID-19 interventions. He said he had called for a meeting with the budget officials to discuss the issue.
Aside from meeting Leyte officials to assess the damage and discuss the necessary interventions, President Duterte also led the distribution of relief packages and cash assistance to typhoon-affected individuals in the province. President Duterte was accompanied by senator Christopher “Bong” Go.
Typhoon Odette is considered one of the strongest tropical cyclones to hit Southern Leyte this year. The typhoon made its third landfall in the province last Thursday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 195kph (kilometer per hour) and gustiness of up to 270kph.
President Duterte also met with the local government officials of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands in Siargao City to assess the typhoon’s impact in the province and see what support can be extended by the national government.
On Sunday, Dec. 19, he also visited the Municipality of Argao in the Province of Cebu.
The weather disturbance caused massive flooding in different provinces across Mindanao and Visayas, affecting thousands of families and individuals, as well as heavily damaging key infrastructures in its path.
It killed over a hundred people. But officials fear this could rise further as more reports come in.
(Eagle News Service with a PND report)