THE 20th Davao City Council passed an ordinance declaring 23 barangays in the city in a state of calamity due to flooding and landslides caused by the trough of the Low-Pressure Area (LPA).
Councilor Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, chairperson of the committee on finance, ways and means, and appropriations and proponent of the ordinance, said that they will allocate a portion of the 30 percent Quick Response Fund (QRF) to these barangays, which are heavily affected by floods and landslides, as assistance to the families that have been affected by the LPA.
The barangays declared under a state of calamity due to flooding are Lasang; San Isidro; Bunawan Proper; Barangay 1-A, 2-A, 8-A, 9-A, 10-A, 19-B; Matina Crossing, Maa, Tigatto, Waan, New Carmen, and Tambobong. While the barangays under a state of calamity due to landslide are Marilog Proper, Salaysay, Tamugan, Lamanan, Saloy, Malabog, and Paquibato Proper.
“From the LGU ng Davao City ang assistance natin to be given from the QRF nga ma-utilize nato is P84,350,000, so kana siya atoang QRF for the city, meaning katong mga nabahaan nato nga kabaranggayan (From the LGU of Davao City the assistance to be given from the QRF that will be utilized is P84,350,000 so that is our QRF for the city, it means that it will be given to those barangays that has been affected by flooding),” Ortiz said in a media interview on Tuesday morning, February 6, 2024, at the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Meanwhile, around P19 million QRF will be extended to other LGUs in the form of welfare goods and about P6,100,000 QRF in the form of cash assistance.
Ortiz emphasized that despite the huge amount to be given to other LGUs from the city’s QRF, there are still enough funds since every year the unutilized calamity fund is deposited to the city’s trust fund.
“So ang atoang pondo sa trust fund nato specifically for the utilization of QRF will amount to more than P600 million so dako-dako pa na siya na pondo para sa atoang siyudad sa Davao, God forbid nga para gamiton na siya in cases para sa calamities (Our money for the trust fund specifically for the utilization of QRF amounts to more than P600 million and it is still a big amount for the City of Davao, God forbid to be used in cases of calamities),” she said.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Baloran, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), during the fifth regular session, said that they included the barangays affected by landslides under the state of calamity because numerous families are displaced because of this. They are currently evacuated by the personnel of CDRRMO and it was revealed that some of their lots are in danger zones.
“Continuous pa ang heavy downpour, maybe there are some areas pa nga may mass wasting especially in the third district (There is still continuous heavy downpour, maybe there are some areas where mass wasting will happen especially in the third district),” Baloran said. RGP
Related stories:
