CALAMITY FUNDS worth P3.41 billion have been released as of the end of March to fund relief operations and repairs to infrastructure that had sustained typhoon damage, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In its National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) status update, P2.01 billion was disbursed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), while the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received P1.4 billion.
The DBM said that P875 million was released to the DSWD to replenish the Quick Response Fund, a stand-by fund to support relief and rehabilitation efforts during calamities.
The DPWH received P408.34 million for infrastructure repairs in the Cagayan Valley, which was hit by Typhoon Egay last year.
The DPWH also received P177.37 million for the rehabilitation and restoration of infrastructure damaged by Typhoon Paeng in 2022.
The DBM has yet to release P19.32 billion out of this year’s P22.74-billion NDRRMF budget.
A total of P19.74 billion in calamity funds was released to agencies last year, the DBM said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz