To ensure a responsive, data-driven budget that will facilitate the rehabilitation of areas battered by back-to-back Typhoons Tino and Uwan earlier this year, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson pressed for ground-validated disaster assessment reports from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
During his interpellation of the Department of National Defense’s proposed 2026 budget, Lacson requested copies of the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Rapid Damage Needs Assessment (RDANA) to guide lawmakers in crafting the needed amendments.
He pointed out that Malacanang, through Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, formally requested funding in the 2026 budget to assist the local government units (LGUs) concerned in their rehabilitation efforts.
“The Senate, and Congress for that matter, cannot simply introduce amendments under the Senate version and even during the bicameral conference committee without getting data on the ground,” he said in his interpellation.
“We will try to avoid lump sum appropriations. Because when we realign some appropriations (for the Local Government Support Fund) because the request was to augment the LGSF, (so that) local government units on their own can rehabilitate and recover,” he added.
Senate finance committee chairman Sherwin Gatchalian, who sponsored the DND’s budget, said the OCD will submit the needed reports, possibly by Dec. 1.
Lacson requested that the reports be submitted to the finance committee so the committee members can discuss it when they introduce amendments during the bicameral conference committee.
Without the needed reports, he said Congress may resort to passing a supplemental budget. Gatchalian noted that a supplemental budget may be needed since the Senate has removed the unprogrammed appropriations from its version of the budget bill.
But Lacson pointed out that resorting to a supplemental budget will need a certification from the Treasury that there are available funds. “We can do away with that and instead just introduce amendments in the bicam,” he said.
Also, Lacson said they must consider as well the calamity funds of the LGUs concerned, which is five percent of their total local budgets. He cited the case of Cebu, which had a P23-billion budget for 2024 and likely P1.15 billion in calamity funds. Negros Occidental’s 2024 budget of P5.4 billion for 2024 may mean a possible P270 million in calamity funds, he added.
“All these should be considered when we realign funds from some other items to the LGSF. But we should be very specific,” he said.
