Press Release
October 22, 2009

CHIZ URGES PALACE TO DISBURSE ADDITIONAL P12-B
FOR CALAMITY-STRICKEN AREAS WISELY

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday urged the Palace to immediately make use of the additional P12-billion calamity fund authorized by Congress to help battered communities recover quickly from the devastation wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.

"The people need all the help they can get now. The government must act swiftly to release whatever amounts are available for the communities that need them most," said Escudero, principal author of the joint resolution which the Senate approved on October 13.

"We should not wait until typhoon Ramil or any other typhoon that may came our way adds to the misery of the people whose lives and fortunes were devastated by the last two calamities," he said. The opposition lawmaker, however, cautioned the Palace to disburse calamity funds wisely and with utmost transparency.

A resolution by the House of Representatives appropriating the use of unprogrammed funds in the same amount was passed on the same day. Both resolutions were passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives without amendment.

The government has said that only P24 million remains of the P2-billion calamity fund which has been depleted because of the past calamities that have hit the country in the last 91/2 months.

Escudero filed the resolution a day after he visited five flood-ravaged towns in Pangasinan where he distributed relief goods and consulted with local officials on relief and rehabilitation efforts. The lawmaker from Sorsogon also deferred announcing his political plans for the May 2010 elections which he had promised to do when he turned 40 last October 10.

Under the joint resolution, the funds are to be released to appropriated implementing agencies and local government units upon approval of the President "in accordance with the favorable recommendation of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

It also creates a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to oversee the utilization of the supplemental fund. The committee is to be composed of six members and will be jointly chaired by the chairpersons of the Senate committee on finance and the House committee on appropriations.

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