No supplemental budget needed from Congress for Marawi rehab: Diokno

July 14, 2017

The Duterte administration does not need to ask Congress for a supplemental budget for the rehabilitation of Marawi as the Department of Budget and Management has allotted budget of at least P5 billion for 2017 and P10 billion for 2018. Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the ongoing conflict in Marawi would not significantly affect the performance of the Philippine economy, nor it would warrant the creation of a supplemental budget to rehabilitate the area. He said the budget to rehabilitate Maraw will would be released following a multi-year scheme. "Now for the rest of the year, just to tell you, from August to December, that’s five months. I have already identified some P5-billion for the Marawi restoration. It’s a standby money there. We will get it from the NDRRM, that’s the National Disaster Risk and Management Fund and then also there’s part from the contingent fund and there are existing budgets of some related agencies," Diokno said during the “Mindanao Hour” briefing Friday in Malacanang. For 2018, he said for the P25.5 billion NDRRM fund allocation, P10 billion would be set aside for Marawi. "And then in 2019, an additional budget yet to be determined will be proposed okay, or maybe even 2020, depending on the recovery phase," he explained. Duterte earlier said the government would earmark P20 billion for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Marawi. Diokno said other foreign governments and multilateral agencies, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, have also offered grants for the rehabilitation of Marawi. Government teams would be deployed in the third week of July to second week of August to Marawi to make post-conflict assessment, said Lenie Alegre, chief of the post-disaster evaluation and management division of the Office of the Civil Defense. But the deployment of the teams would be subject to the clearance of the military, she added. (Celerina Monte/DMS)