Quake-hit Masbate town may realign budget for disaster response — DILG

MANILA, Philippines — The Cataingan, Masbate government may realign items in its budget to augment its funding for relief operations after the town was hit by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake amid the threat of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Thursday.

“Assuming without conceding na dito nga sa Cataingan e naubos na nila yung kanilang Bayanihan grant at naubos na nila yung Calamity Fund, ang pwede nilang gawin ay mag-realign ng budget sa LGU (local government unit). Pwede magpatawag ng meeting yung kanilang konseho para i-realign yung ibang nakalagay sa budget para magamit for quick response,” DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya said over Teleradyo, reacting on Cataingan government’s call for more funds as it lacked money for food and shelter of displaced residents.

(Assuming without conceding that the Caitangan has used up its Bayanihan Grant and Calamity Fund, what the LGU can do is realign their budget. Their council can set up a meeting to realign items in the budget for quick response funds.

Local officials in quake-hit Cataingan called for the national government’s help after it used its calamity fund to establish quarantine facilities, deploy frontline workers, and guard its borders. The local government said it currently has no funds for its relief operations for quake victims.

Malaya also noted that the Cataingan government can also request help from the Masbate provincial government for their budget concerns.

“Ang pinakamabilis ay yung provincial level o ang probinsya ng Masbate kasi may QRF (quick response fund) sila and they can immediately provide assistance,” Malaya said.

(To make it fast, the provincial level or province of Masbate since they have QRF, they can immediately provide assistance.)

According to the Department of Budget and Management, quick response funds are “built-in budgetary allocations that represent predisaster or standby funds for agencies in order to immediately assist areas stricken by catastrophes and crises.

For relief operations, Malaya said the local government may also seek assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded over 200 aftershocks since the magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Cataingan and nearby provinces at 8:13 a.m. on Aug. 18, Tuesday.

EDV