P18.6 billion calamity fund used in 11 months

MANILA, Philippines — The national government has utilized P18.6 billion from the national calamity fund to support disaster relief and rehabilitation efforts across the country from January to November, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, the government still has nearly P2.4 billion available for calamities, disaster response and other emergencies that require funding and assistance this December.

Broken down by segment, P1.39 billion remains under the NDRRM program, while another billion is still available from the People’s Survival Fund.

The government had utilized P4.25 billion from the NDRRM Fund by end-October, indicating that the budget department released roughly P1.86 billion in November alone. Total allocation for the year as approved under the 2025 General Appropriations Act is P21 billion.

More than half of the released funds went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at P10.22 billion, followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways with P5.76 billion and the Department of Agriculture (DA) with P1 billion.

On Nov. 7, the DBM approved the release of P1 billion to replenish the DA’s quick response fund (QRF) and P53 million for the Department of Transportation.

The DSWD also received an additional P752.06 million in QRF on Nov. 11, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government secured P50 million on Nov. 12 to restore its own QRF.

Designed to aid the affected and repair damaged infrastructure, the QRF enables the rapid delivery of relief assistance to disaster-hit communities and the rebuilding of roads, bridges and public buildings.