Supplemental budget eyed for Bohol rehabilitation

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers want to include in this year’s national budget and in the proposed P2.268-trillion General Appropriations Act (GAA) for 2014 a supplemental budget for the rehabilitation of the earthquake-ravaged areas in Bohol and Cebu.

Bohol Rep. Rene Relampagos yesterday appealed to the Senate to include a P3.1-billion rehabilitation fund for the two provinces in the proposed 2014 budget.

 Relampagos sought the passage of a joint resolution from both chambers allowing the realignment of available or unused funds in the 2013 GAA for the rehabilitation of the two provinces.

He expressed support for a Senate proposal seeking to allocate the 2013 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for Bohol and for other calamity-hit provinces such as the Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales, which have yet to recover from the devastation brought by Typhoon Santi.

As this developed, the Senate has agreed to give up the unused portions of its 2013 PDAF as it urged President Aquino to realign the funds for the rehabilitation of disaster-ravaged areas.

Senate President Franklin Drilon introduced Senate Resolution 302 seeking to realign the unused PDAF to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund or the calamity fund.

The senators unanimously adopted the resolution yesterday, which, according to Drilon, indicates that everybody is giving up their unused pork.

Owing to a Supreme Court order stopping the releases of the 2013 PDAF and the decision of the senators to forgo the funds, Drilon said the money would be now treated as savings as provided for under the GAA. – With Marvin Sy, Jaime Laude