MANILA – The Senate will scrutinize flood control programs in the proposed 2025 national budget given the recent devastating floods caused by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami), Senate President Francis Escudero said on Monday.
Escudero said that theoretically, rising seas and higher flood waters must lead to rising appropriations, and a higher budget for climate adaptation.
“Kaya ang budget ng Pilipinas ay (That’s why the budget of the Philippines is) unique. Disaster is becoming a de facto macroeconomic assumption. That is a given in the world’s most calamity-prone nation,” he said in a news release.
The 2023 budget allocated PhP 291.2 billion for flood control projects, increasing to PhP 353 billion in 2024.
For 2025, the proposed budget for flood control under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is PhP 303 billion.
While the Marcos administration has increased flood mitigation budgets, Escudero raised questions about its sufficiency in addressing the changing climate and the collective neglect of previous administrations.
“Moving forward, however, we will not only exact accountability but also make sure the 2025 budget will provide preventive measures to avoid a recurrence as well as adequate rehabilitation and response in case of a similar calamity in the future,” he said.
“Disaster response should not depend of people’s resiliency alone, but also on government response. But disaster response is not the government’s duty alone, it is the responsibility of the whole nation. Pagdating ng baha, iisang bangka tayo (When it comes to flood, we are all in one boat),” Escudero added.
Senator Joel Villanueva earlier reiterated his call for an integrated and comprehensive master plan to address flooding and other effects of calamities.
“Ang ating bansa ay rank as number one globally in two consecutive years na in terms of disaster risk dito sa World Risk Index. Kaya siguro it’s about time na pagtuunan natin ito ng pansin (Our country ranks as number one globally in two consecutive years in terms of disaster risk here in the World Risk Index. So maybe it’s about time we focus on it),” Villanueva said in a virtual press briefing.
He said the Senate should look into how the government spends its budget for flood control and its impact to communities. (PNA)