by Alice Sicat
The government has released a calamity budget of P1.3 billion to help the victims of the recent tropical storm Sendong.
According to Office of Civil Defense Cdr. Edgardo Ollet, the said budget was apart from the P300 million standby fund released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) three weeks before the onslaught of typhoon Sendong. The said standby fund was a reserved budget for calamities, as PAGASA has forecasted that at least 2 to 3 typhoons are expected to close the typhoon season this month.
The calamity budget will be utilized to help the affected 65,067 families or 348,749 persons in the 13 provinces of Regions VI, VII, IX, X, XI, CARAGA and ARMM.
On the latest report by the Department of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Department of Agriculture (DA), the infrastructure damages amount to almost P1 billion and the agriculture loss and damages amount to around P2 million.
Meanwhile, the latest list of casualties remains at 976. At least 432 individuals were rescued, 46 are still missing and a total of 1,603 people were injured.
The Palace assured the public that if additional disaster-response funds are required, the government has sufficient reserves to augment the calamity fund expedite relief operations to all affected areas and communities.
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