MALACAÑANG should immediately release Congress-approved El Niño funds, as preemptive measures are needed to avert a national crisis caused by widespread drought, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said on Thursday.
Recto said the government must act with a sense of urgency and download billions of pesos in Calamity Fund and Quick Response Fund (QRF) to prevent a repeat of the Kidapawan tragedy.
“The dry spell is real. Now is the time to release the funds approved by Congress to shield the country from the wrath of the El Niño. Tomorrow may be too late,” he said in a statement.
“We do not need to wait for the provinces to declare a state of calamity in their localities before downloading the funds. A national crisis is just around the corner,” Recto added.
The lawmaker again sounded the alarm bells on El Niño after the entire province of Cebu joined the growing list of provinces that had declared a state of calamity due to the dry spell on April 11.
Last week the neighboring province of Bohol was also placed under a state of calamity.
Recto noted that even the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) had predicted that more than 30 provinces in the country may experience severe drought this April.
According to the weather bureau, more than 30 percent of the country will experience drought for three consecutive months with below-normal rainfall.
Provinces under threat of severe drought include Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Siquijor, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay and Bukidnon.
Camiguin, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sarangani, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, Basilan, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi are also affected.
“Pagsa has already identified the most vulnerable areas. They should receive the El Niño funds ASAP,” Recto said.
For this year, he said P38.9 billion has been allocated as National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Fund in the national budget. However, P18.9 billion of this amount is earmarked for Yolanda reconstruction, “which means only about P19 billion can be disposed for other calamities, like the El Niño.”
A lump-sum fund, Recto said this Calamity Fund covers aid, relief and rehabilitation services to areas hit by man-made and natural calamities. It also funds pre-disaster projects and operations.
The Calamity Fund, however, is separate from the P6.7-billion QRF, which has been distributed among 12 agencies, with P1.32 billion given to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and P500 million each to the Department of Agriculture and the National Irrigation Administration.