Solon asks P9.4-B budget augmentation for Dinagat rehab

Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Ecleo took his oath via videoconferencing. (Photo from the Office of House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez)

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker is asking to augment the 2022 national budget for the rehabilitation of Dinagat Islands, which was one of the hardest-hit areas during the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.

Dinagat Islands Rep. Alan Uno Ecleo said some P9.4 billion is needed for the rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure in the province as well as provision of food and financial relief and cash-for-work as a temporary source of income for residents affected by the typhoon.

In the resolution he filed, Ecleo said the amount would go to the following services and rehabilitation efforts:

• Carpentry kits and training with tools; Housing assistance (P2.44 billion)
• School reparation and rehabilitation (P1.76 billion)
• Emergency shelter assistance; Cash-for work; family food packs; emergency cash transfer (P1.45 billion)
• Reconstruction and repair of damaged health facilities (P73 million)
• Procurement of bancas with fishing gears; procurement of lambaklad (P326 million)
• Coconut planting and replanting; rehabilitation of partially damaged trees (P141 million)
• Fund for different local government units (P360 million)
• Reconstruction and repair of infrastructure facilities (P2.54 billion)
• Beneficiaries of DOLE-TUPAD (P180 million)
• Portable desalination plants (P150 million)

“The havoc caused by Odette brought the Dinagat Islands on bended knees. For more than a month now, our people have been trying to slowly recover, mustering all the courage we have to regain back normalcy amid the continuing threat of the COVID-19 virus,” Ecleo said in his privilege speech on Monday.

Ecleo also chided the “delayed and dismal” response of national agencies to Dinagat Islands following the powerful typhoon.

“When the storm was just gathering strength, we have already asked the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) to prepare food packs in advance for those who would be affected,” Ecleo said.

“Unfortunately, this foresight was lost on the DSWD when it prepositioned these food packs in warehouses and stations in the path of the storm. It is a shameful, arrogant miscalculation that has led to wasted resources and delayed relief to our constituents,” he added.

Ecleo added that they made several requests to various government agencies: lumber from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in order to help residents rebuild their destroyed homes; fuel from the Department of Energy (DOE); Water filtration system from the Department of Science and Technology; radio system from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and carpentry kits and training from TESDA.

“We even requested DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) to exempt volunteer doctors headed to Dinagat Islands from the travel ban, and immediate support from DOH (Department of Health) to make our health facilities functional,” Ecleo said.

“Unfortunately, it would seem that the urgency of the situation is lost on many of our departments and agencies,” he added.

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JPV