Ramdam na ng mga magsasaka sa limang rehiyon ang epekto ng super El Niño. Umabot na ng ₱7 billion ang dagok sa Cagayan Valley, Bicol, CALABARZON, SOCCSKSARGEN, at CARAGA. Kailangang umaksyon na agad. May pondo ang gobyerno para sa mga kalamidad. Kailangan lang correct at hindi korap spending.
At the DBM budget hearing, Secretary Kim De Leon expressed support for a whole-of-government response and identified approximately ₱112 billion in funding across the current year’s agency budgets, including the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund’s ₱39 billion.
Ang mga pondong ito, dapat maging tubig para sa mga komunidad, proteksyon para sa mga sakahan, abot-kayang pagkain para sa mga pamilya, at napapanahon (timely) na tulong para sa mga nawawalan na ng kabuhayan.
Dapat parang boy scout tayo: Laging handa. Anticipate. Kumilos bago pa man maramdaman ang pinakamalalang epekto ng super El Niño. Kongkretong aksyon sa mga lugar na dumanas na ng pinsala. Ito ang aking walong DRaPPPHLO (Declare, Release / account, Preposition, Protect, Price, Hoarders, Livelihood, One) action points:
1. Make the appropriate declarations, and attach an operational plan to each one.
I ask NDRRMC, the Department of Agriculture, PAGASA, and concerned local governments to immediately consolidate the latest forecasts, damage assessments, water-supply conditions, and food-production risks, and submit their recommendations to the President.
For areas already suffering qualifying damage and disruption, Section 16 of Republic Act No. 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, provides for a presidential declaration of a state of calamity upon the recommendation of the NDRRMC. At the local level, the declaration may be issued by the local sanggunian upon the recommendation of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, based on damage assessment and needs analysis. Let us use these mechanisms wherever the evidence warrants them.
For areas facing a highly probable disaster with severe projected impacts,Republic Act No. 12287, or the Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act, authorizes the President, upon the recommendation of the NDRRMC and based on a pre-disaster risk assessment, to declare a state of imminent disaster, including for droughts.Such declaration requires an assessment of the severity of the forecasted impacts and the prescribed lead time, for implementing anticipatory measures. Local chief executives may issue such declarations through executive orders upon the recommendation of the Regional DRRM Councils.
Magkaiba ang imminent disaster sa state of calamity, ngunit ang layunin ay maagapan ang pinsala at mapabilis ang tulong. Hindi dapat hintayin na lumala ang sitwasyon bago gamitin ang mga umiiral na pondo at programa para sa disaster preparedness.
Dapat bawat deklarasyon, may kasamang malinaw na oplan: aling mga komunidad ang makakatanggap ng tulong, ano ang ibibigay, aling ahensya ang responsable, gaano karaming pondo ang magagamit, at kailan darating ang tulong.
2. Release available funds promptly, and account for every peso.
Section 10 of RA 12287 expressly provides funding channels for anticipatory action through local DRRM funds, qualifying unexpended balances accruing to the Special Trust Fund, regular national agency budgets, and the National DRRM Fund.
I ask DBM and concerned agencies to submit within 48 hours a consolidated report identifying available funds; amounts already committed; approvals needed; the timetable for releasing and using these funds; and any funding or implementation gap requiring presidential or congressional action.
Parang kapos na tubig din ang tinatayang ₱112 billion na sinabi sa hearing: Hindi pwedeng aksayahin o waldasin. Linawin ng DBM kung ano ang existing appropriations, available balances, at halaga na pwedeng gamitin para sa specific El Niño interventions.
Ganun din sa tinatayang ₱104 billion na nasa 2027 National Expenditure Program. Pero malinaw na proposed allocation pa lang ito, at hindi perang pwede nang gastusin ngayon.
Kaya hindi sapat ang sabihing “may pondo.” Kailangang linawin: Magkano ang puwedeng gamitin ngayon, nasaan ito, sino ang maglalabas, at kailan ito makararating sa nangangailangan?
3. Preposition supplies and deliver assistance before communities reach breaking point.
Section 9 of RA 12287 authorizes anticipatory measures following a declaration of a state of imminent disaster.
I ask DSWD, DA, DOH, DILG, OCD, and concerned local governments to prepare and implement province- and municipality-level readiness plans to ensure the timely delivery of food, safe drinking water, medicines, hygiene supplies, and other essential assistance to communities at greatest risk.
These plans must identify available supplies, storage and distribution facilities, transport arrangements, and personnel responsible for delivery. Water tankers, pumps, treatment equipment, and repair teams must also be readied for deployment where needed.
Priority must be given to vulnerable households, with clear delivery schedules and safeguards to ensure that assistance reaches intended beneficiaries without unnecessary delay.
Kasama sa prepositioning: imbentaryo ng mga relief packs sa mga bodega, mga barangay na nangangailangan ng relief packs, paano makakarating, sino ang mamamahagi, at gaano kabilis ang replenishment.
Unahin ang maliliit na magsasaka at mangingisda, mga low-income households, bata, buntis at nagpapasusong kababaihan, matatanda, taong may kapansanan, at geographically isolated communities.
4. Protect farms, fisheries, and water systems, not just replace losses afterward.
Prevention is the best cure.
I ask the DA, the National Irrigation Administration, concerned water agencies and utilities, and local governments to immediately agree on area-specific water and agricultural contingency plans.
Ang mga kagyat na gawain: Repair irrigation facilities, communal water systems, pumps, and distribution lines; and publish irrigation schedules and water-supply advisories so farmers and households can plan.
In the medium-term, or within the next month: provide crop-specific advice on planting calendars, suitable varieties, and water-saving practices; extend appropriate veterinary, livestock-water, feed, and aquaculture support; protect harvests and maintain access to storage, transport, and markets; and expedite other authorized assistance.
Section 9(g) of RA 12287 specifically provides for contingency plans to mitigate damage to agricultural products and food supply. Where a state of calamity is declared, Section 17(c) of RA 10121 also mandates programming or reprogramming funds for the repair and safety upgrading of public infrastructure and facilities, subject to applicable law.
5. Enforce price freezes where triggered, and impose justified price ceilings where needed.
Under Section 6 of the Price Act (RA 7581), a state of calamity triggers an automatic price freeze on basic necessities at their current rates. This freeze lasts for the duration of the emergency, up to 60 days (or a maximum of 15 days for imported/deregulated items like LPG and kerosene).
Iba ito sa presidentially mandated price ceiling.
Under Section 7 of the Price Act, the President may impose price ceilings on basic necessities and prime commodities upon the prescribed recommendation when warranted by an impending calamity, emergency, or unreasonable price increases. Section 17(a) of RA 10121 also provides for price ceilings following a declaration of a state of calamity.
I ask DTI, DA, DOH, and the Price Coordinating Council to immediately: publish the covered products, applicable frozen prices or ceilings, geographical coverage, and effective dates; establish daily monitoring of essential goods in affected and high-risk markets; submit evidence-based recommendations for targeted ceilings where statutory grounds exist; post clear consumer advisories in public markets, supermarkets, pharmacies, and online channels; and maintain accessible complaint channels and promptly report enforcement results.
6. Go after profiteers, hoarders, and cartels with evidence and actual cases.
Huwag gamitin ang kalamidad para pagsamantalahan ang gutom at pangamba ng taumbayan.
Section 5 of the Price Act prohibits hoarding, profiteering, and cartels involving basic necessities and prime commodities.
I call on implementing agencies, local price councils, and law enforcement to file criminal and administrative charges against the masterminds, owners, and organizers behind these networks. Enforcement must not end with frontline sellers; we must target the very top.
Under Section 15 of the Price Act, illegal price manipulation carries, upon conviction, imprisonment of five to 15 years and a fine of ₱5,000 to ₱2 million. Section 16 separately penalizes violations of automatic price controls or mandated ceilings with imprisonment of one to 10 years, a fine of ₱5,000 to ₱1 million, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Public officials are not exempt. Section 19 holds officials or employees principally responsible when, by reason of their office, they conspire in or knowingly conceal violations, with the additional penalty of permanent disqualification from public office.
Tulad saflood-control scam, ang panawagan ng taumbayan: Ikulong na ang mga mapagsamantala.
7. Provide livelihood relief and a practical path to recovery.
Section 17(d) of RA 10121 mandates the granting of no-interest loans by government financing or lending institutions to the most affected sections of the population through their cooperatives or people’s organizations following a state-of-calamity declaration.
Nananawagan ako sa mga kinauukulang government financial institutions na agad na ilathala ang mga implementing procedures: sino ang mga kwalipikado, aling mga kooperatiba at organisasyon ang maaaring lumahok, mga kinakailangan sa dokumentaryo, mga tuntunin sa pautang, at application at release procedures.
Dapat unahin ang maliit na magsasaka at mangingisda na nawalan o lumiit ang ani o huli.
Kambal dapat ang tulong: sa sambahayan (household) at sa kabuhayan para tuloy ang produksyon at kita.
8. Establish one coordinated response and a public accountability system.
I call on the President to direct the NDRRMC, through OCD and the concerned agencies, to maintain a single, coordinated El Niño action plan with named leads, measurable targets, and regular public reporting.
Merong pang 24 hours, pang 48 hours, pang lingguhan: sa forecasts, damage reports, water conditions, priority needs, funding matrix, supply inventory, price-control advisories, etc. At syempre continuing feedback: funds released and spent, supplies delivered, households reached, farm and water interventions completed, price complaints acted upon, and cases filed.
Ang gulugod ng lahat ng ito: Maayos na paggastos ng pera ng taumbayan.
Section 8 of RA 12287 already requires monitoring of declared areas, anticipatory-action fund utilization, and estimated economic and social costs minimized.
Gumawa ngpublic dashboardna pinapakita angresourcesat ang mgaresulta.
As I’ve said, I will seek the updated funding and implementation reports before plenary and pursue oversight to ensure that commitments made during the budget hearing translate into assistance on the ground.
Tayo ring mamamayan, may responsibilidad: Magtipid sa paggamit ng tubig at kuryente. Ireport ang mga sirang tubo at may tumatagas na tubig. Ireport din ang mga hinihinalang pananamantala.
May batas. May mga pondong tinukoy. May mga ahensiyang may malinaw na tungkulin. Ang kailangan ngayon ay agarang pagpapasya, maayos na pagpapatupad, at malinaw na pananagutan.
Hindi natin kontrolado ang panahon. Pero tungkulin nating huwag hayaang lumala ang pinsalang maaari nating maagapan. Unahan natin ang krisis. Madaliin ang tulong. Protektahan ang pagkain, tubig, at kabuhayan ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino.