SPONSORSHIP SPEECH
Joint Resolution No. 34

Authorizing the Use of the Unprogrammed Fund in an Amount Not to Exceed Twelve Billion Pesos (P12,000,000,000.00) for Emergency Relief Operation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Works and Services in Areas Affected by Typhoons "Frank", "Ondoy" and "Pepeng'

Senator Edgardo J. Angara

Mr. Senate President,

Your Committee on Finance has the honor to sponsor Joint Resolution No. 34, which seeks to appropriate twelve billion pesos for the implementation of relief operations, reconstruction and rehabilitation in the areas affected by Typhoons "Frank", "Ondoy" and "Pepeng".

Damages to agriculture, property and loss of life are beyond what we were prepared to handle. Metro Manila and 25 Luzon provinces were placed in a state of calamity as heavy rains brought by the storm caused the worst flooding seen in the capital in some 20 years.

This is nothing short of what happened when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States in the summer of 2005. It was the most destructive natural disaster in American history, laying waste to 90,000 square miles of land. As a point of reference, Hurricane Katrina brought 380mm of rainfall to the state of Louisiana, which has a total land area of 51,885 square miles, while Ondoy brought 410mm of rain to the city of Manila alone, a total land area of 14.9 square miles.

One thing that stood out during the Katrina tragedy was the failure of the US government - the richest country in the world and the only remaining superpower - to plan, prepare for and respond to the calamity. This should serve as a cautionary tale for us.

Such catastrophes, when not responded to with urgency and efficiency, can cause a political backlash. The US Federal government made poor decisions in the days following the storm, systems on which officials relied on to support their response efforts failed, and top officials of the land failed to provide effective leadership. This made the already unpopular President Bush even more scorned by his constituents. Even in Taiwan, a natural disaster was enough to shake political alliances and put the Prime Minister out of office.

By the latest estimate of the Department of Agriculture (DA), we lost a combined total of P18.4 billion in agriculture damage - P6.7 billion from Ondoy and P11.6 billion from Pepeng. The major crop damaged was rice, worth P14.4 billion. Over 109,000 hectares have no chance of recovery, while 155,000 hectares are expected to have reduced yields. Irrigation facilities amounting to P951 million are in dire need of rehabilitation.

The fisheries, livestock and poultry sectors, too, were not spared by Ondoy and Pepeng. Almost 6,000 hectares of fishponds were damaged, mostly in Region 3, resulting to losses worth Php127.5 million. Damage to livestock and poultry has been pegged at P41 million.

Public infrastructure was equally devastated. According to preliminary estimates by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), we need to conduct emergency restoration and rehabilitation of destroyed roads, bridges and classrooms worth P1.56 billion.

Moreover, about 500,000 people are currently taking shelter in makeshift centers such as schools and open-air gymnasiums throughout the city of Manila alone. The scarcity of safe water and sanitation facilities, the degree of crowding, the weakened health status of the evacuees, and the dearth of healthcare services all influence the risk for communicable diseases. Infections including swine flu, diarrhoea and leptospirosis are what we should especially watch out for. This calls for the mobilization of our health service agencies in monitoring and halting the rapid spread of disease.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) must provide continuing food and non-food relief to families still in evacuation centers. As of the latest count, there are 1.44 million families or 7 million Filipinos in evacuation centers - Ondoy wrecked the homes of 877,777 families (4.3 million Filipinos) while Pepeng drove 563,671 families (2.6 million Filipinos) into evacuation centers. Later on, the DSWD needs to provide shelter assistance and financial support to these people who have lost their homes to the deluge.

Mr. President, we are now faced with the very difficult task of recovery. Beyond the immediate, we must look into long term strategies that will help the affected communities recover from the disaster and rebuild their lives. Equally important, we must instill a sense of hope and solidarity among them.

Natural disasters have serious health, social and economic consequences. It is imperative that we undertake relief operations, reconstruct and rehabilitate infrastructure and help rebuild the lives of tens of thousands of affected Filipinos with utmost urgency and efficiency.

Ondoy, Pepeng and Frank are, above all, a test of governance. It is in these distressing times that people need to know their government heeds their plight. Mobilizing critical government resources and reinforcing our social safety nets is the best post-disaster response we can make.

I urge my colleagues in the chamber to immediately approve this resolution. Thank you.