Loren, Pia seek budget for climate change

MANILA, Philippines—Senators Loren Legarda and Pia Cayetano Wednesday sought to recast next year’s proposed P1.541-trillion budget to make it more responsive to disaster mitigation and preparedness.

Both senators said deliberations on the General Appropriations Act of 2010, which will resume on Monday, should focus on giving more funds to programs that will help the country cope with the effects of climate change.

The Senate hopes to pass the budget before adjourning for the Christmas break.

Legarda wants funding for the Climate Change Act of 2009, which she authored. Signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Oct. 23, the act calls for the creation of a Climate Change Commission. It seeks the purchase of more pump boats and other rescue equipment; development of water-submersible crops; and improvement of local area disaster response operations. It also calls for steps to reduce carbon emissions and increase forest cover as risk reduction measures.

Cayetano, on the other hand, called for budget realignments to finance other pro-environment laws and programs.

Cayetano wants to reinstate the P2-billion slash in the proposed budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

In a statement, Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on social justice, noted that the budget of the DENR had been reduced from P12.9 billion this year to only P10.7 billion in 2010.

The budget cut will affect, among others, existing programs such as watershed rehabilitation, cadastral surveys and biodiversity conservation, she said.

Capital outlays for forest restoration and the acquisition of modern equipment for pollution monitoring and geo-hazard mapping will also be affected, Cayetano said.

Cayetano also wants to see money allocated for the relocation of more than half a million squatters living around waterways in Metro Manila.

She said the government would need P3.2 billion annually in the next 10 years to build 22,689 social housing units to accommodate 545,000 households.

Both Legarda and Cayetano said the recent calamities brought on by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and Typhoons “Pepeng” and “Santi” should serve as eye openers for the people and the government.

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