P200M budget okayed for disaster mgmt body

Baltazar Tribunalo, Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council head, explains why the PDRMMC will need a P200 million budget for 2019 during Friday’s Annual Investment Plan meeting at the Capitol.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

PROPOSED ALLOCATION FOR 2019

The Cebu Provincial Development Council has approved the proposed P200-million budget of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) for 2019 during their meeting on Friday, September 14.

The amount is P19 million higher than the department’s P181 million budget for 2018.

The budget proposal will then be endorsed to the Provincial Board subject for approval during the budget meeting for 2019.

In the proposed P200-million budget, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation still got the highest portion of the appropriation at P96-million.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation budget will be spent in funding of studies on climate change, impact on agriculture and fisheries, best practices in disaster management, training programs for land use, planning, and climate smart development initiatives.

The establishment of a comprehensive early warning system (EWS) and Disaster Communication Network in the province is also part of the disaster prevention plan which has an allocation of P21 million.

“Kanang early warning system, mao na ang naa sa prevention. We need to acquire more of those equipment para mas hait ang atong paghatag og forecast sa mga tawo,” said PDRRMO head Baltazar Tribunalo.

The prevention and mitigation fund will also be utilized to construct a backbone communication tower to support the Talisay City Command Center and network link to southern LGUs.

The procurement of seven emergency vehicles worth P18.4 million which includes two ambulances, one fire engine, one traffic response vehicle and three motorboats is also in the pipeline.