MANILA, Philippines — The National Electrification Administration’s (NEA) funds to subsidize electric cooperatives affected by recent typhoons is already nearing depletion, said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday.
Gatchalian was referring to the NEA’s Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (Ecerf)—a program where electric cooperatives can tap into interest free, in times of calamities and emergencies such as typhoons.
The Ecerf, said Gatchalian, is allocated around P200 million every fiscal year.
READ: Marcos: Quick response fund depleted due to back-to-back typhoons
“So far, the initial estimate right now is around P180 million for the provinces affected by two typhoons,” said Gatchalian in the Senate’s plenary debates for the 2025 General Appropriations Act when asked by Sen. Imee Marcos how much funds the program has left.
“The P180 million is only until September, so the new typhoons will not be covered,” he added.
According to Gatchalian, P20 million was used for cooperatives in Batanes alone.
However, the senator noted that even upon depletion, the NEA has the option to then get the money from the national government’s quick response funds (QRF).
But, Marcos pointed out that the country’s QRF is already running low amid the consecutive typhoons that hit the country in the past few months.
Gatchalian concurred, stating that such a challenge is also being faced by the NEA.
“So the challenge there is how will NEA tap into QRF… but the mechanism is there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Budget and Management previously said that it is already looking into tapping other sources of funds for the QRF.
These funds included the Contingent Fund and available funds from the regular budget of various departments.
The QRF under 2024 GAA amounts to P7.9 billion. Among the agencies with allotted QRFs are the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of the Interior and Local Government, among others.