News
P8-B Housing Fund to Support Ongoing Yolanda Rehab
(PIA) — The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P8 billion to the National Housing Authority (NHA), as part of the National Government’s continuing rehabilitation and recovery of areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda last November 2013.
The amount is part of the P19 billion approved by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) as funding requirement for resettlement projects in Yolanda-affected areas. The P8-billion fund will be charged against the 2014 Supplemental Appropriations for the construction of permanent housing for victims of Typhoon Yolanda.
“The 2014 Supplemental Budget fortunately enabled us to fast-track the implementation of the Yolanda rehabilitation plan instead of having to wait for the next fiscal year. What’s more, with the help of Congress, we had the budgetary space to address high-priority needs that couldn’t wait for the turnover to the next national budget, ”Secretary of Budget Florencio “Butch” Abad said,
The NHA’s Yolanda Permanent Housing Program was created to address the housing needs of 205,128 families in Regions IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, and Caraga as approved by the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR). Prior to this release, the DBM had released P11 billion last October 2014 charged against the NDRRM Fund under the FY 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The following is the breakdown of the provinces to be provided with housing assistance:
| PARTICULARS | AMOUNT |
| Region VI | P4,063,988,000 |
| Aklan | P89,335,000 |
| Antique | P629,735,000 |
| Capiz | P768,570,000 |
| Iloilo | P1,224,614,000 |
| Negros Occidental | P1,351,734,000 |
| Region VIII | P3,935,990,000 |
| Biliran | P477,720,000 |
| Eastern Samar | P359,974,000 |
| Samar | P971,256,000 |
| Leyte | P1,342,654,000 |
| Ormoc City | P122,725,000 |
| Tacloban City | P661,661,000 |
| TOTAL | P7,999,978,000 |
Abad said, “Creating the budgetary support for the NHA’s permanent housing program for Typhoon Yolanda victims is just part of the National Government’s thrust to ‘Build Back Better’. By incorporating prevention and preparedness in our rehabilitation efforts, we’ll be able to safeguard settlements throughout the country against future tragedies.”
Though the DBM has released the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO), the Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA) will only be released upon the submission of the NHA’s report of its utilization of available cash as per National Budget Circular No. 556. (dbm.gov.ph)
