Officials hope for release of fund as 'Frank' nears anniv
Officials in Western Visayas are urging the passage of a Senate counterpart bill appropriating P8 billion for the rehabilitation of areas damaged by last year's typhoon “Frank.”
Antique Gov. Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez, chair of the Regional Development Council of Western Visayas, said in a telephone interview on Monday that they are hoping that the bill will be passed before Congress takes a recess on June 5.
Typhoon Frank devastated Western Visayas, particularly Panay Island, on June 21, 2008.
She said the RDC could issue a resolution calling for the swift passage of the bill when the council holds its meeting this week.
Senate Bill 5064, sponsored by Senators Edgardo Angara and Jose Miguel Zubiri, is the counterpart of House Bill 4824 which allocates P8 billion to finance the reconstruction and the rehabilitation of the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental, and the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
These areas suffered heavy damages after the typhoon triggered the worst flooding in the region in recent years.
The bill also provides for the creation of a multi-agency commission headed by the chair of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to oversee the rehabilitation programs.
NDCC chair and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said in a recent visit in Antique that he will help push for the passage of the bill to ensure that the full rehabilitation can be implemented in the affected areas.
Officials in the region had earlier called on the national government to find and release funds for repair and rehabilitation project warning of the possibility of another disaster when the rainy season sets in.
Raul Banias, Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas and executive director of Task Force Bangon Panay, said the bill, which as been certified as urgent by President Macapagal-Arroyo, is supported by more than majority of the senators.
Banias said that 90 percent of the fund will be allocated for Panay Island and 70 percent will be spent for infrastructure projects.
Part of the fund will be used to procure equipment for the Office of Civil Defense and Regional Disaster Coordinating Council for disaster preparedness and response equipment.
Banias said government agencies are ready to implement the projects as soon as the funds are available.
President Macapagal Arroyo last March 28 ordered the release of P481 million as emergency funds to start the rehabilitation projects because of the delay of the release of the P8 billion fund.
The P481 million will be allocated to major repair and construction of bridges, dredging of heavily silted rivers and the repair and rehabilitation of major roads.