Senators want calamity fund increased

MANILA, Philippines — Senators are aiming to increase the government’s Calamity Fund for 2021, sifting through the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget for next year to find enough funds to realign for the purpose, it was learned yesterday.

“We are currently studying the possibility of supplementing the calamity funds for 2021. We are looking for fund sources for realignment at the moment,” revealed Sen. Sonny Angara.

Angara issued the statement following reports that the Calamity Fund is running out because government had to respond to a series of emergencies.

In separate statements, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Risa Hontiveros pushed for the reduction of the P19-billion proposed budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for 2021 and transfer the portion to augment the Calamity Fund.

“Instead of using P19 billion to fund soft projects that are prone to corruption such as agricultural assistance, livelihood and technical vocational trainings, scholarship and assistance to indigent individual or families, the funds should go directly to our kababayans devastated by the recent typhoons,” Drilon said.

He said the move will help erase suspicions that the funds are being established “in aid of 2022 elections.”

Hontiveros said the budget for the NTF-ELCAC is “questionably astronomic” compared to the proposed budgets of key agencies like the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (P632 million), Office of the Ombudsman (P3.36 billion), Department of Budget and Management (P1.9 billion) and the Department of Finance (P17.46 billion).

Virology institute to be set up

Meanwhile, at least P284 million will be earmarked for the proposed Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines or VIP, which the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is eyeing next year.

DOST Undersecretary for research and development Rowena Cristina Guevara said the VIP will be the country’s premier research facility encompassing all areas in the study of viruses and viral diseases.

The bill creating the VIP has already been filed in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Guevara said the initial funding being set aside for the institute will be used to start research activities. – Rainier Allan Ronda