Province-wide state of calamity nod awaits rehabilitation plans

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The provincial government cannot declare a province-wide state of calamity in response to El Niño until affected government offices develop their rehabilitation plans, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

Cornelio Salinas, head of the PDRRMO, said in an interview that departments such as agriculture, veterinary, health, and environment and natural resources must prepare their rehabilitation plans before presenting them to the provincial board.

“One of the requirements to present it to the provincial board is to come up with a budget requirement so that it will mitigate the impacts of El Niño on the affected sectors. They first have to come up with appropriate interventions in their departments so that we can lessen the impact of El Niño,” he explained on Tuesday, May 7.

Salinas emphasized that the budgetary requirements of each department need to be clearly defined as part of the documentation process to allocate funds from the province’s quick response fund (QRF), which amounts to P61 million.

“For it not to be delayed at the provincial board, since we have already identified the sectors affected and the offices that need additional budget or appropriation, we have to ascertain where these budgets will go,” Salinas added.

It is noted that the state of calamity declaration for the entire province was not on the agenda during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Tuesday, May 7.

Salinas mentioned that they aim to declare a province-wide state of calamity next week.

On April 29, the PDRRMO approved a resolution recommending the declaration of a state of calamity for the entire province after damages caused by El Niño reached a critical figure of P1.025 billion.

Eight of the 43 towns in the province, including Estancia, Sara, Bingawan, Passi, Barotac Viejo, Dingle, Balasan, and Lemery, have already declared a state of calamity due to the impacts of the dry season and the El Niño phenomenon.

To date, a total of P9.9 million worth of family food packs, financial assistance, and other food items have been distributed to 118,488 families affected across the province.