₱6-B fund for Taal relief bared

First-responder government agencies have around ₱6.8 billion for disaster response in this year's national budget that can be tapped for the Taal Volcano relief efforts, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado revealed last Tuesday.

At the Taal situation briefing attended by President Duterte in Batangas City, Avisado said the national government has "more than enough" funds to cover the latest relief efforts for people affected by Taal Volcano's restiveness.

"We are assured that the government has more than enough funds. I say more than enough because we are still beginning the 2020 national budget utilization," he said.

Based on the 2020 budget, Avisado said Department of Education has an allocation of ₱2.1

billion; Department of Agriculture,

₱1.5 billion; Department of Social Welfare and Development, ₱1.25

billion; Department of Public Works and Highways, ₱1 billion; Department of Health, ₱600 million; Department of National Defense, ₱250 million; and National Electrification Administration,

₱100 million.

"We would like to assure the people that the government is doing its best and managing the funds necessary to respond to all these needs," he said. "We will be consulting and securing the approval of the President in all of this, particularly in the utilization of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council funds," he added.

But for now, Avisado encouraged the local government of Batangas to utilize its calamity funds around ₱409 million before the national government comes in.