Senate eyes fund to rebuild quake-hit homes

The Senate is studying the creation of a “Build Back Better Fund” innext year’s budget to help rebuild homes and communities damaged by recent calamities, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

- By NEIL JAYSON SERVALLOS

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate finance committee, said the fund will be carved out of the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) and used to assist residents whose homes were destroyed, including those in quakehit Bogo City in Cebu.

He clarified that the proposal would not create a new budget item but would expand the uses of the LGSF to include housing subsidy and reconstruction support.

“We would just include an additional criteria,” he said.

Gatchalian said about P182 billion in disaster response funds remain available across various agencies, enough to cover current needs until the end of the year.

While some have proposed sourcing funds from flood control allocations, the senator said there are already sufficient reserves under the LGSF, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) fund and the contingency fund.

He also acknowledged public “trust issues” with the Department of Public Works and Highways but expressed confidence the agency’s leadership would institute reforms.