Execs call for maximizing use of Cordillera calamity fund

BAGUIO CITY: Officials of the Cordillera Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) are urging local governments to maximize the use of the calamity fund to boost their resilience against any eventualities.

Calamity fund accounts for 5 percent of the annual budget of a local government.

‘I am appealing to the LGUs (local government units), please use your calamity fund as intended,’ CDRRMC chair and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) director Albert Mogol said in a briefing on Tuesday, adding that proper utilization of the calamity fund makes a difference in contributing to the localities’ resiliency to calamities.

Data obtained from the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) in the Cordillera on Wednesday showed that in 2023, the region has about PHP1.31 billion DRRM fund. This fund is replenished annually based on the budget of the LGU.

However, total DRRM fund utilization in the region only amounted to PHP634.39 million.

Of the tota
l funding, 70 percent or about PHP944.99 million, was allocated for disaster prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and rehabilitation, and recovery.

The balance of 30 percent, amounting to PHP368.8 million, is for quick response fund (QRF) or for relief and recovery programs.

Total spending for the disaster prevention and mitigation last year reached PHP501.45 million while it amounted to PHP132.94 million for the quick response expenditures.

In the same report, BLGF recommended the identification of strategies and its implementation to expedite the disbursement of funds, especially for the QRF, to ensure timely and effective measures during calamities.

It also recommended that local governments ‘develop plans for the judicious use of the expended balance (trust fund) from previous years.’

‘Consider allocating these funds strategically to address long-term resilience and sustainability projects,’ it added.

In a message to the Philippine News Agency, DILG-Cordillera director Araceli San Jose
said: ‘sana gamitin ng LGUs ang calamity fund (I hope LGUs utilize the calamity fund).’

Source: Philippines News agency