Kanlaon aid: Cebu City Council OKs P3M assistance to victims

The initial P7 million was slashed to only P3 million

JULY 16, 2023: A glimpse at the facade of the Cebu City Hall. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Council slashed the initially proposed P7 million cash assistance for Kanlaon victims to P3 million.

From the initial P1 million each for the towns of La Carlota, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Pontevedra, and City of Bago and P2 million for the City of Canlaon, the amended financial aid could only be handed over to Canlaon City and La Castellana.

The revised resolution authored by Councilor Joel Garganera stated that the Cebu City Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (CCDRRMC) deliberated and agreed to provide financial assistance only to those local government units (LGUs) placed under the state of calamity.

And these LGUs are Canlaon City and La Castellana. The City of Canlaon shall receive P2 million and La Castellana shall receive P1 million as financial aid. 

The said resolution was approved during the council’s regular session on June 19.

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In a separate interview with Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia on June 19, he said that the amended allocation of P3 million would be sufficient financial aid for the affected towns.

“Ang ni-declare ra man og State of Calamity is Canlaon ug La Castellana. Duha ra ma’y ni-declare gud. We cannot give man gud hinabang kung sila mismo wa sila ni-declare og State of Calamity,” Garcia said.

(Those who declared state of calamity is Canlaon and La Castellana. Only two declared. We cannot give aid if they did not declare a state of calamity.)

Garcia said that tangible damages due to the eruption were seen and as much as the city would like to extend a helping hand to these towns, the allocated assistance could only be handed to Canlaon City and La Castellana.

Meanwhile, the resolution’s author, Councilor Joel Garganera also confirmed the amendment on the proposed allocation and beneficiaries. 

“Yes na-amend nato kay it turned out nga only 2 LGUs declared (a) State of Calamity and that is Canlaon sa Negros Oriental and La Castellana sa Negros Occidental. Sila ra’y nideklarar og State of Calamity so sila ra gyu’y most affected. That’s the reason why atong gi-ubsan and instead of 6 (towns), 2 (towns) na lang ato’ng tagaan,” he said.

(Yes, we amended it because it turned out that only 2 LGUs declared a state of calamity and that is Canlaon of Negros Oriental and La Castellana of Negros Occidental. They are the only ones that declared a state of calamity so they are the ones most affected. That’s the reason why we lowered our aid and instead of 6 (towns), we will only give 2 towns.)

Previously, several councilors had reservations about the proposed amount of P7 million.

Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera expressed that the proposed amount might be “too much” and that the resolution might need to pass through the City’s Development Council (CDC) and include documentation to justify the proposed financial assistance.

Councilor Nestor Archival also questioned the need to look for an additional budget for this matter if the city already had an existing disaster budget.