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More fund for disaster preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation: Sen. Nancy S. Binay wants additional funding for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (Calamity Fund) to address the country’s problem on disaster preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation. “It's been almost five years, the NDRRM Fund has been stuck in around P20 billion in our annual budget. This is despite the high utilization rate of the funds and the increasing weather conditions that affect us every year,” Binay said in Filipino. “We know that the problem of climate change is getting worse with the disaster. Maybe at the proper time, our chairperson would find additional funding when it comes to disaster preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation, especially to those affected by typhoon Kristine,” she added during deliberations at the plenary, November 6, 2024 for the 2025 national budget. Under the current year, the total available appropriations for the NDRRM Fund is P22.735-billion. Of the amount, 82 percent or P18.814-billion were already released. As of September, P3.921-billion is still at the Department of Budget and Management. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)