Unused donations for Marawi victims not missing, says OCD

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Friday that the financial assistance for Marawi victims remained intact.

“We would like to assure the public that the funds for the victims of the Marawi siege in the amount of P36.91 million from various donors are still with the OCD and are not missing,” OCD administrator Usec. Ricardo Jalad said in a statement.

In an audit report of the OCD released last May 20, the Commission on Audit (COA) said that only P10,000 was released out of the P36.9 million donations.

READ: COA: NDRRMC financial assistance given to only 1 Marawi siege victim

READ: COA hits poor use of donated funds for ‘Yolanda,’ Marawi victims

“As discussed with Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) Chairman Sec. Eduardo del Rosario, the P36.9 million donated funds in the custody of the OCD will form part of the funding source for projects that will be implemented for the rehabilitation and recovery of Marawi City,” Jalad said.

He also said they have initial use of the funds not reflected in the COA report, which is P1-million support to the TFBM field office for their project during the Ramadan holiday on June 5.

The COA also reported that the OCD has not appropriated any funds for Marawi recovery, rehabilitation, and its reconstruction program.

One of the possible reasons why the donations were not distributed was the documents needed by the victims to prove that they are qualified for the grants, COA said.

Jalad said that despite the documentation required from the beneficiaries, he has given instructions to its field offices to assist the victims in every possible way.”

“As of this date, the total funding requirement for this year’s project is in the amount P10-billion for which the NDRRMC funds have about P8 billion available. Hence, that P36.91 million donated funds will certainly be utilized,” he said.

Instead of using the donated funds, Jalad said the OCD used its quick response funds to deliver services to the victims of the siege. Some of the assistance provided include:

Funeral assistance
Transportation assistance for the victims
Feeding programs in schools
Food, non-food items, and family packs
Rice augmentation for DSWD field office
Procurement of various items for Evacuation Centers in Lanao del Norte such as insulators for tents, aggregates for surface hardening and TV sets
Reconstruction of school buildings
Support to TFBM field office

(Editor: Eden Estopace)