{"id":274192,"date":"2020-11-05T22:43:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T03:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=274192"},"modified":"2020-11-05T22:43:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-06T03:43:30","slug":"typhoon-hit-communities-to-benefit-from-anti-insurgency-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/11\/05\/typhoon-hit-communities-to-benefit-from-anti-insurgency-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Typhoon-hit communities to benefit from anti-insurgency funds"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Roque explained that while anti-insurgency funds will be used to free villages from threats to security and development, it will also assist residents affected by natural calamities. (File: Civil Defense PH\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Communities successively hit by Typhoons Quinta and Rolly will benefit from the PHP16.4-billion anti-insurgency fund of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), Malaca\u00f1ang said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured typhoon-affected communities that they will all be \u201cbeneficiaries\u201d of NTF-ELCAC\u2019s anti-insurgency funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cItong mga nasalanta ng bagyo po (Those hit by the typhoon), they will be beneficiaries of the ELCAC funds,\u201d he said in a press briefing from Virac, Catanduanes, among the most heavily devastated by the typhoon.<\/p>\n

Roque explained that while anti-insurgency funds will be used to free villages from threats to security and development, it will also assist residents affected by natural calamities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIyong<\/em>\u00a0ELCAC\u00a0na pondo po ay pupunta doon sa area na mayroong<\/em>\u00a0insurgency problem\u00a0\u2018no. Dahil alam naman natin na kinakailangan magkaroon ng pag-unlad para mawala na iyong problema pagdating sa<\/em>\u00a0insurgency (The ELCAC funds will go to areas where there are insurgency problems. Because we know that there is a need for development to clear an area from insurgency),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

However, Roque backtracked on his earlier statement expressing support for the realignment of NTF-ELCAC funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi na po kinakailangan mag<\/em>-realign\u00a0diyan, ituloy lang po natin na pondohan iyong mga<\/em>\u00a0ELCAC programs\u00a0at malaking pondo po ay pupunta po dito sa<\/em>\u00a0Bicolandia\u00a0at<\/em>\u00a0Catanduanes\u00a0kung saan aktibo naman po talaga ang mga<\/em>\u00a0insurgents (There\u2019s no need to realign the fund because the ELCAC continues to fund programs and a huge portion of that will go to Bicolandia and Catanduanes where insurgents are active),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an interview over CNN Philippines on Wednesday, Roque expressed support to the proposal of Senator Risa Hontiveros to realign a portion of the anti-insurgency fund to relief and rehabilitation efforts for communities affected by the typhoons.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that is the objective of ELCAC. The objective of the ELCAC is to promote development in areas with ongoing insurgencies because we know that poverty is the root cause of insurgency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Roque said he did not see \u201cany inconsistency\u201d with the proposal to realign a portion of NTF-ELCAC funds to typhoon-hit areas.<\/p>\n

LGUs may request fund augmentation\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the same virtual briefing, Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado said local government units (LGUs) may request for disaster relief fund augmentation, but this needs to go through the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).<\/p>\n

Avisado said LGUs affected by \u201cRolly\u201d may tap the quick response fund of several government agencies.<\/p>\n

These agencies include the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Electrification Administration (NEA).<\/p>\n

He said these agencies have a combined budget of around PHP6.8 billion for disaster-related spending.<\/p>\n

Avisado said the national budget, or the General Appropriations Act of 2020, states that once this budget has been depleted the agencies may request for replenishment, which, he said, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) is currently doing.<\/p>\n

He said budget for the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management fund (NDRRM) currently stands at PHP3.6 billion.<\/p>\n

He said the fund cannot be directly released to LGUs since a request for funding needs to be coursed through the OCD, which manages request related to after effects of disasters or natural calamity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIyon pong sa mga departamento, mga ano po iyon,<\/em>\u00a0quick response\u00a0lang po iyon. Pero iyong pangmatagalan at mga<\/em>\u00a0permanent structures\u00a0na kailangan i-<\/em>rehabilitate\u00a0o i-<\/em>reconstruct,\u00a0dadaan po iyan sa — nasa batas din po iyan sa<\/em>\u00a0NDRRMC through the Office of Civil Defense ((The funds allocated for the departments are only for quick response. But for long-term rehabilitation and rehabilitation or reconstruction of permanent structures the law said this needs to pass through NDRRMC through the Office of Civil Defense),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Roque reassured residents of Catanduanes that the government would not neglect their needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi po kayo pababayaan, hindi kayo kalilimutan ng ating Presidente. Narito po tayo ngayon sa<\/em>\u00a0ground zero\u00a0para ipakita ang suporta ng Presidente sa lahat ng mga naging biktima ng<\/em>\u00a0Super Typhoon Rolly (We will not leave you behind, our President will not forget you. We are here today at ground zero to show the President’s support to all the victims of Super Typhoon Rolly),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Since the President does not engage in politicking, Roque said all residents will be provided with necessary assistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cLahat po ng mga pangangailangan ninyo sisikapin natin na dalhin dito<\/em>\u00a0by air, by land, by sea.\u00a0At huwag po kayong mag-atubili dahil ang Presidente po walang pulitika iyan, lahat po ng mga nangangailangan ay bibigyan ng tulong<\/em>\u00a0(We will try to bring all your needs here by air, by land, by sea. And do not doubt, the President is not into politicking, all those in need will be given help),\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Communities successively hit by Typhoons Quinta and Rolly will benefit from the PHP16.4-billion anti-insurgency fund of the National Task …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":274215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-274192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274192"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274216,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274192\/revisions\/274216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}