Operating on ad hoc basis

On the eve of the second anniversary of the tragic devastation wrought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (internationally called as Haiyan), government officials presented yesterday to the media their respective status reports on the rehabilitation and reconstruction activities in the disaster-stricken provinces.

Two years ago, the world’s strongest typhoon – classified as category 5 storm in terms of strength of winds – came to the Philippines on Nov. 8. Yolanda severely damaged Eastern Visayas provinces of Samar, Leyte, then crossed to Cebu before exiting through Coron in Palawan.

In summary, the government reported having allocated a total of P150 billion for the reconstruction and rehabilitation activities up to year 2017 for all the Yolanda-stricken provinces in Regions IV-A, VI, VII, and VIII. According to Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad, the national government has spent P93.87 billion out of this total amount as of their last reckoning on Oct. 23.

Of this balance, Abad disclosed, P46 billion will be available for disbursement only if the proposed 2016 budget of the national government is approved into law by President Aquino. Leaders of both chambers of the 16th Congress are optimistic they will be able to approve the proposed P3.002-trillion budget bill before they adjourn by the end of this year.

The remaining unspent balance of around P10 billion, Abad cited, will be released before November ends.

The Senate committee on finance chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda earlier raised concern over the P10.28 billion in National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund that remain unspent as of Sept. 30. On top of this, Legarda added, is the P5.458 billion in Quick Response Funds (QRF) lodged in different agencies that also remain unspent.

In fact, the Commission on Audit (COA) reported millions worth of cash donations from here and abroad for Yolanda reconstruction have been lying idle in government banks. In the 2014 COA report, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) turned out keeping more than P384 million in cash donations merely stashed in a government-owned bank account instead of spending them for relief and rehabilitation works needed by the Yolanda victims. The COA also reported as much as P923.1 million as of Dec. 31, 2014 of QRF “was not utilized as envisioned and became idle.”

However, former Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson mentioned much higher amounts of unspent funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction. Based on continuing appropriations from the Congress-approved 2014 budget, Lacson noted there is as much as P150 billion of unspent funds that could have been used for Yolanda reconstruction efforts.

While going through with a fine-tooth comb the 2014 budget, Lacson said he discovered this huge amount of unspent funds of the national government. The former senator further discovered much bigger amount of more than P350 billion are unutilized in 2015 budget. The bulk of it came from unspent Yolanda funds in the Congress-approved 2015 budget.

“So there is more than P500 billion funds available for Yolanda reconstruction that the government could utilize to speed up the recovery efforts in the Yolanda areas,” Lacson pointed out.

A day before the joint press conference by the respective heads of these government agencies, we invited Lacson and Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman in our weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay to discuss what has been so far implemented by the government on the Yolanda rehabilitation program.

The re-electionist senator once headed the office of the presidential assistant on rehabilitation and recovery (OPARR) on Yolanda. President Aquino appointed Lacson to head the OPARR in December 2013 or a few months after his second and last term at the Senate ended. He is running again for the Senate in May 2016 elections as “guest” candidate of President Aquino’s Liberal Party-backed 12-man senatorial ticket.

Before Lacson resigned from the Cabinet, President Aquino approved the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Program for Yolanda. This was a study completed by the OPARR with the technical support of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Following the exit of Lacson in February this year, OPARR was likewise dissolved.

However, the DSWD secretary cited the CRP put together by Lacson is being used by the Aquino administration as the government’s guide to the ongoing Yolanda reconstruction and rehabilitation program.

From her end of the Yolanda rehabilitation program, Soliman said the DSWD has P3.5 billion funds at its disposal. However, Soliman admitted her agency still has some P1.3 billion for disbursement by the end of this month.

But she expressed confidence they would be able to fully utilize these unspent funds as programmed up to November 30 this year.

The DSWD secretary gave us an initial briefing at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay on the status of Yolanda rehabilitation and recovery efforts done by her agency.

Soliman conceded the Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) is the most controversial part of the Yolanda rehabilitation because of a combination of bureaucratic problems and political interventions by the local government units concerned.

Soliman clarified though much of the Yolanda rehabilitation is being monitored by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Retired Navy chief Alexander Pama is concurrently the executive director of the NDRRMC and OCD head.

There was a common consensus on the need “to institutionalize” the NDRRMC – not just operate as inter-agency council – for a country that is prone to natural calamities and man-made disasters, not to mention climate change phenomenon. With more than 20 typhoons on average that visit the Philippines every year, Lacson renewed his call for the government to implement the “sunset” provision of Republic Act 10121 that created the NDRRMC. This requires a review by Congress of RA 10121 to determine any needed remedial legislation.

Instead of operating on ad hoc basis, he cited, the government could be more pro-active on pre-disaster activities than merely being reactionary after these natural and man-made calamities already laid waste our land and people.