Funds for Bicol rehab called drop in the bucket

15 April 2007

LEGAZPI CITY—A PUBLIC works official in Bicol said they still could not assure the public of safety at the onset of the rainy season even if they had almost completed the dredging of heavily silted rivers and created earth dikes as temporary flood-control structures around Mt. Mayon.

Orlando Roces, regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Bicol, said even after they received the P1.3 billion allotted for the DPWH local office through the Calamity Assistance Rehabilitation Effort (Care) fund of the 2007 General Appropriations, it would not be enough to fund the agency’s long-term projects for rehabilitation.

“The amount is too small if you look at the damage caused by the disaster. Only P770 million would be allotted for Albay out of the total budget for Bicol and it will be used for short-term projects like the repair of roads, bridges and some flood-control facilities,” Roces said.

“What will happen to the earth dikes we have temporarily created? They will just be washed out if we will not able to build permanent structures,” he added.

The availability of the Care Fund was announced by Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. in his visit here last week.

Andaya said the calamity fund would be released starting April 8, or 15 days after the 2007 budget was approved by the President.

He said the fund was exempted from the election ban being implemented by the Commission on Elections.

A total of P10 billion is expected to be released by the Department of Budget and Management under the Care program.

It will be divided among the different agencies and local governments in areas affected by Typhoons “Paeng,” “Milenyo,” “Reming” and “Seniang,” Andaya said.

Included in the P10 billion allotment is the special fund of P2 billion for the repair of damaged or destroyed school buildings.

Andaya said Bicol will get P4.55 billion of the total calamity fund, of which Albay will get the biggest share of P2.5 billion.

Albay Gov. Fernando Gonzalez said the amount will be used to prioritize shelter and livelihood assistance to the displaced villagers “who need houses where they could stay before rainy season comes.”

Local government officials have recently been critical of the dredging activities of the DPWH.

Gonzalez earlier said it would be better if permanent structures are to be built instead of dredging which only provides temporary solutions.

However, Roces said they never stopped the questioned dredging activities despite the opposition from some local officials.

“We have already explained to everybody the importance of dredging. It’s something we can immediately in the meantime that we are waiting for the funds to be released so we can start the rehabilitation of the damaged structures,” he added.

Roces said they were still identifying where the remaining volcanic debris were deposited and their likely path when loosened by floodwaters. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon