P13-B calamity funds released as of July

FLOODING. A flooded road in Mangatarem, Pangasinan on July 26, 2024. The province recorded P247 million in initial damage to agriculture and infrastructure due to Super Typhoon Carina. —Official Facebook page of Pangasinan DRRMO

MANILA, Philippines — The government has released P13.54 billion in calamity funds as of last month to fund relief operations and repairs to infrastructure damaged by past typhoons.

Data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed the government used its national disaster risk reduction and management fund, with P7.67 billion going to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and P4.64 billion to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

READ: BARMM taps calamity funds amid El Niño hit

The DBM said that P3.5 billion was released to the DSWD to replenish the Quick Response Fund (QRF), a stand-by fund to support relief and rehabilitation efforts during calamities.

The DPWH, on the other hand, received P1 billion for its QRF, on top of P150.47 million for calamity-related projects in Pangasinan, which was damaged by three typhoons (“Egay,” “Odette,” and “Kabayan”) in the past years.

The DBM has yet to release P9.2 billion out of this year’s P22.74 billion calamity budget. —Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo