Monitor P10-B Calamity Fund Against Political, Campaign Use – Loren

NP-NPC-LDP VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE LOREN LEGARDA TODAY CALLED FOR STRICT MONITORING OF THE P10 BILLION CALAMITY FUND, WARMING AGAINST ITS USE FOR POLITICAL AND CAMPAIGN PURPOSES.
Legarda called on the Senate to exercise its oversight function in monitoring the calamity funds.
“Ang pondong ito ay para sa Mindanao at iba pang parte ng bansa na lubhang nasalanta ng kakulangan ng kuryente at El Nino. Huwag natin ipagkait sa tao at huwag natin i-divert for political operations. We should keep a watchful eye on how the funds are disbursed,” she said.
Legarda added, “the progress of the disbursement of funds must be published in newspapers and online so we will know if the money was used to acquire barges, generators or for cash transfers.”
She lamented that the Paglaum fund for Typhoon Frank in 2008, as well as the Ondoy and Pepeng funds, have not even been fully released by government.
She said she will summon the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Energy (DOE), National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the Department of Health (DOH) to outline parallel programs in addition to the calamity fund.