The government wants a P152.35-billion budget for the implementation of its convergence program on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in 2021, according to Cabinet Cluster on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction, chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The Cabinet cluster said the Duterte administration has allotted P152.35 billion for the government’s risk resiliency program under the 2021 National Expenditure Program it submitted to the House of Representatives.
The amount is roughly 30 percent higher than the P117 billion allocated for the program this year.
The increase was due to alignment of programs and activities to the priority policies, strategies and projects of the Inter-Agency Task Force Technical Working Group on Anticipatory and Forward Plan for the new normal in the CCAM-DDR sector.
Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change Analiza Rebuelta-Teh said the proposed funding would be used to build resilient and sustainable communities as the country continues to deal with the coronavirus disease 2019 crisis.
“We are still in the midst of a health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country needs programs that will strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacities of its communities, especially in climate-vulnerable provinces and major urban centers,” she said.
The risk resiliency program seeks to increase the adaptive capacities of vulnerable communities; ensure the adequate supply of clean air, water, and other natural resources; increase the resilience of critical infrastructure, and enhance knowledge, access to information and institutional capacities of communities.
The provinces involved are Masbate, Sorsogon, Negros Oriental, Western Samar, Eastern Samar, Sarangani, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Southern Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Bukidnon, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat.
The program also covers four major urban centers — Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Iloilo and Metro Davao.
“The government—through the Cabinet Cluster on CCAM-DRR—will prioritize actions and investments that will reduce the long term health impacts and increase our resilience and adaptive capacity to both the coronavirus pandemic and climate change,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.