Post disaster rehab continues despite El Niño

DESPITE the El Niño and the looming power crisis, economic managers said post-disaster reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts are still ongoing in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

In an economic briefing held at Camp John Hay on Thursday, Department of Finance (DOF) Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the agency believes that reconstruction works in typhoon-hit areas in the Cordillera will be completed with their partners in the private sector.

Click here for Election 2010 updates

Beltran reported that the recovery and rehabilitation projects have been in progress in agriculture, health, education, social welfare, public works and highways, as well as in local government units.

In the Cordillera, National Economic Development Authority (Neda) division chief Rowena Gacusan said the total loss and damage brought about by last year’s typhoons reached P8.5 billion.

This resulted in a slump in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of -0.4 percent mainly due to an estimated P300 million decrease in total output in production from P30.9 billion in 2008 to P30.6 in 2009.

Also, the forecast of the economic managers last year was that the region will have a 2.7 percent growth. Due to the calamities, however, the forecast growth was not reached.

The government addressed this decline in GRDP by initiating a Typhoon Reconstruction and Development Plan for 2010-2014 to help rebuild the Cordillera region, whose infrastructures were affected by the typhoons.

“The main objective of the plan includes revitalizing the regional economy by restoring the environment and rebuilding and strengthening the physical infrastructure in the region,” Gacusan said.

Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Director Bingle Gutierrez, for his part, said the current budget for 2010 remains flexible because the agency has already forecast the mild El Niño phenomenon happening in the country this year.

The DBM remains optimistic the budget deficit will be trimmed down through belt tightening measures being implemented by government agencies to cut down spending.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) acting Director Zeno Abenoja said the adverse impact of last year’s calamities on the banking system has been limited.

The BSP have already provided regulatory relief to banks that have been affected by the typhoons as a pre-emptive measure. It will also continue monitoring developments in the market so the banking system in the country remains stable.

Abenoja said the impact of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng has proven to be transitory and manageable as the country’s inflation averaged 3.2 percent for the entire 2009, which is well within the target for the year.

For 2010, the BSP will continue its vigilance and readiness to undertake the necessary measures to achieve its main mandate of stabilizing prices. (JM Agreda)