Bulacan gov’t told to explain calamity fund use

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Seeking transparency in their use of calamity funds worth P93 million, the chairman of the Bulacan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) urged the provincial government to provide a detailed breakdown of public resources it spent for victims of Typhoons “Pedring” and “Quiel” three weeks ago.

“That’s a lot of money. Officials need to be transparent,” Teofilo Rivera said in a telephone interview on Saturday.

Rivera, a former member of the provincial legislative board, described the relief goods to be of “pathetic quantity” and the pace of distribution as a “turtle-like speed.”

Governor Wilhemino Sy-Alvarado did not reply to the Inquirer when it sought the side of the Bulacan government.

The cost of assistance that the government had distributed amounted to P15 million, according to the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) in an October 13 report.

Representative Joselito Mendoza and Butil Farmers Rep. Agapito Guanlao supplied more than P2 million of the P11.7-million aid to Bulacan that was disbursed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), according to the OCD Central Luzon office.

Rivera cited media reports claiming that flood victims in Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, Pulilan and Obando towns “waited several days before they received relief goods.”

He also demanded answers as to why it took the provincial government several days before it declared a state of calamity.

Rivera asked the provincial government to prove its claims that it gave relief goods amounting to P32 million amid reports that some of the aid came from private groups.

“The offices of the governor, provincial treasurer, provincial budget officer and accounting offices should be transparent [about] the release of the calamity fund. They should reveal the details in public for scrutiny by Bulakeños,” said Rivera.

Throughout Central Luzon, the cost of assistance to typhoon victims totaled P79.666 million as of October 13, the regional OCD said.

Of that amount, the DSWD gave P29.8 million worth of relief packs that were shipped to Aurora (P1.1 million), Bataan (P2.5 million), Bulacan (P11.7 million), Pampanga (P6.2 million), Tarlac (P1.5 million), Nueva Ecija (P4.9 million and Zambales (P837,899).

Assistance from the Department of Health amounted to P1.1 million while provincial governments provided P21.2 million, local governments, P25.9 million, barangays (villages), P229,300, and nongovernment organizations, P2.4 million.

According to the OCD Central Luzon office, the back-to-back typhoons flooded 1,689 barangays in 90 towns and 11 cities, affecting some 2.4 million people.

As of October 13, at least 20,216 people remained in evacuation centers.

The disaster left 48 people dead, three missing and nine injured. At least 2,399 families were left homeless. Agricultural losses were estimated at P11.6 billion while damages to infrastructure cost government P1.2 billion.