‘Unprogrammed’ money tapped to raise P12B for calamity fund

By Angie M. Rosales

10/13/2009

Congress has opted to draw on so-called unprogrammed funds available to President Arroyo in this year’s budget to replenish the depleted calamity fund by P12 billion instead of enacting a P10-billion supplement for this year’s appropriation to pay for massive relief efforts as a result of the devastation caused by two strong typhoons that hit the country.

A joint resolution was filed in the Senate yesterday for the scheme to augment the calamity fund which has been depleted to P24 million when the first of the two typhoons, “Ondoy,” resulted in the flooding of most of Metro Manila and surrounding areas.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate finance committee, said the unprogrammed funds in the P1.4-trillion 2009 budget is worth some P79 billion.

He said the P12 billion for the calamity funds is on top of the P11-billion lending facility from government financial institutions and an estimated P5 billion in

donations and grants from foreign governments for victims of typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng as well as Frank that hit the country last year.

“We don’t have to realign (the national budget) and we do not need to hold special sessions. The funding will come from the unprogrammed funds which did not yet have underlying sources of funding when the budget was approved,” he told reporters in an interview.

Angara added the use of the unprogrammed funds also does not require signing by President Arroyo.

Angara met with Speaker Prospero Nograles and his counterpart in the House Rep. Junie Cua early yesterday where a consensus was reached for a joint resolution and have it approved before Congress goes on recess this week.

“It can be released within the week, bicameral conference meetings for it are not needed. This is for immediate release, for immediate relief and rehabilitation,” he said.

The House committee on appropriations approved the other day a still unnumbered resolution for the P10 billion supplemental budget but the House is now expected to act on the Angara measure yesterday and transmit it to the Senate by evening.

Angara plans to hold at least one hearing today, if there will be no hitches, before presenting it for approval at the plenary on Wednesday.

Angara, however, said that he will still pursue the provision of capital outlay in the proposed P1.5 trillion national budget for next year to finance the reconstruction and rebuilding of damaged infrastructures.

“Badly damaged roads, public buildings etc., that would fall in the regular budget and that’s why we are going to propose the inclusion of a capital outlay budget when there is none for 2010. Personally, at the minimum I think it should be at P30 billion. That’s why I want to hear from (officials of) DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highway) on the extent of damage,” he said.

Opposition Sen. Francis Escudero, who filed the joint resolution, said the measure would provide for the fastest funding for relief efforts.

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