Villafuerte proposes P20B BRRF
For quick recovery, rehab of Kristine-battered CamSur, other Bicol provinces
CAMARINES Sur Rep. and former Gov. LRay Villafuerte has proposed the establishment of a multi-year Bicol Rehabilitation and Recovery Fund (BRRF), with an initial outlay of P20 billion in 2025, aimed at quickly putting back on its feet this region, most especially the hardest hit CamSur, that bore the brunt of the extreme devastation wrought in many parts of the country last week by severe tropical storm “Kristine,” which unleashed the worst rainfall in decades.
The National Unity Party (NUP) president said the single biggest undertaking that the government can carry out with this proposed BRRF is to revive the long-discontinued Bicol River Basin Development Program (BRBDP), which President Marcos himself, during his Oct. 26 visit to CamSur, ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to “revisit” as a long-term solution to the region’s chronic flooding.
“Given the worse-than-expected damage inflicted by ‘Kristine,’ especially in CamSur where most barangays were submerged for the first time ever in above-head or roof-level floods, a special rehabilitation and recovery program and funding is crucial for putting Bicol back on its feet soon enough—for instance, that P10-billion was allocated for an ad hoc Commission that was put up in the 1990s to oversee the quick recuperation of Luzon provinces devastated by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo,” Villafuerte said.
But with the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) of P6.352 trillion already passed by the House of Representatives before the Sept. 28-Nov. 3 congressional break, Villafuerte hoped that, “Our senators could realign funds or find new fund sources for this proposed BRRF once they take up the House-approved national budget bill when the 19th Congress reopens next week.”
“The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Martin (Romualdez) could then concur with such a funding proposal in the bicam (bicameral conference committee) process that will happen later to reconcile a final 2025 GAA bill for ratification by both chambers and then for submission to Malacañan for the President’s approval and signature into law,” Villafuerte said.
He said that subsequent allocations for the proposed multi-year BRRF could be taken up later by senators and House members, once the total damages caused by “Kristine” and the commensurate necessary rehabilitation, resettlement, repair and recovery programs and projects have already been ascertained by the appropriate government agencies in consultation with the private sector.
Villafuerte said the single biggest undertaking that the government could work on once the BRRF is approved is the revival, as the President himself brought up in his Oct. 26 CamSur visit, of the BRBDP, which was established by Mr. Marcos’ father—the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.—in 1973 by virtue of Executive Order (EO) No. 412.
The BRBDP, which had its principal office in CamSur, was shelved, though, by the then-Aquino administration in 1986.
Villafuerte suggested that the BRRF could be tapped, too, to bankroll the construction of permanent, climate-proof mega evacuation centers in high places unreached by floods to provide safe shelter to evacuees.
At present, he said, many of the existing evacuation centers have not been ideal temporary facilities to house evacuees as these have been flooded, too, just like the original homes that the typhoon victims in the province had abandoned to flee “Kristine”’s wrath.
CamSur suffered its worst flooding last week as “Kristine” unleashed in a single day—according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)—711 millimeters (mm) of rainfall, or a third more than the previous record of 455 mm of rains that typhoon “Ondoy” brought with it in 2009.
Over the three-day period from Oct. 20 to 23, the accumulated rainfall that “Kristine” dumped in the province reached 931 mm.
The Bicol River Basin (BRB) covers 963 barangays in 50 municipalities and cities in CamSur, Albay and Camarines Norte.
Villafuerte said that 87% of the river, which is the 8th largest in the country, is in CamSur, with its second and fifth districts making up the lowest points and natural catch basins of the BRB—such that many of the villages there are totally flooded even with minimal rainfall.
Last week’s storm affected 1.36 million people in 759 of CamSur’s over 1,000 barangays, inundating 488 of these villages, of which 216 were totally submerged in floodwaters, said the congressman who represents the province’s second district.
In separate certifications issued by district engineers Leopoldo Barela Jr. and Leandro Visorde, these Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials said that their post-storm evaluations showed that about P2.84 billion-worth of damaged infrastructure in the province were qualified for calamity fund releases under the Quick Respond Fund (QRF).
While lawmakers are hopefully crafting this multi-year rehabilitation and recovery Fund plan, Villafuerte appealed to the national government that aside from funds for the immediate dredging activities at the Bicol River, the DBM could likewise additional funds for the following relief and recovery activities:
· Shelter assistance for rebuilding and/or repairing the totally damaged houses of 18,552 families and the partially damaged houses of another 38,880 families;
· Acquisition of amphibious vehicles for rescue operations and delivery of relief goods to people in heavily flooded and isolated villages;
· Medical assistance to combat the potential outbreaks of diarrhea and leptospirosis, particularly in the villages that are still submerged in floodwaters; and
· Assistance to 165,069 agriculture and fishery workers—comprising 82,003 palay growers; 23,700 farmers of vegetables and other crops; and 59,366 fisherfolk.
Villafuerte said that with BRRF funding, the Marcos government could create an inter-agency council to map out and determine solutions to mitigate the worsening perennial flooding that was experienced not only in CamSur but also in Albay, other Bicol provinces as well as in other areas in Luzon, the Visayas and even in Mindanao.
This inter-agency council could identify proper water management structures or water-impounding facilities to check heavy flooding.
Aside from agencies like the Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and of Agriculture (DA); and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and Office of Civil Defense (OCD), this inter-agency council must include other offices such as the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), which could complete and implement the Bicol River Sustainable Development Program (BRSDP).
And while lawmakers are still tackling the proposed BRRDP in the budget deliberations in the Congress, Villafuerte appealed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to consider releasing extra funds at once for essential projects, such as dredging and riverbank protection activities to improve the capacity of the Bicol River and reduce its flood risks that have been getting worse by the year.
Villafuerte said that the proposed inter-agency council to be funded by the BRRF could study the mitigation programs undertaken successfully by countries like The Netherlands, which had spent big on public infrastructure like dams, dikes and flood barriers to check storm surges.
Even as floods brought about by “Kristine” have yet to subside in many barangays in CamSur and other provinces, thousands of Bicol folk were set for evacuation earlier this week with the onslaught of typhoon “Leon.”
Following the President’s visit to Bula, CamSur last Saturday, Villafuerte welcomed the assurance by Mr. Marcos to deal with the perennial flooding of the province and the rest of the region by reviving the BRBDP.
“On behalf of the people of CamSur, I thank President Marcos for visiting our ravaged province last weekend and his quick action on our earlier appeal for assistance for our people reeling from the above-head or even roof-level floods resulting from the ‘Kristine’-induced heavy rainfall that was seen as the worst experienced ever in our province,” Villafuerte said.
“Many of our people who were hardest hit by this latest calamity told me that the visit of President Marcos to our province and the prompt assistance that he and his government extended to them have given them hope to start anew after ‘Kristine,’” he said.
Villafuerte thanked, too, Speaker Martin Romualdez for his similarly quick action in sending relief assistance for the typhoon victims in CamSur and other parts of the country.
The congressman also thanked the over 1,000 volunteers who have been helping the provincial government in the rescue and relief efforts in the province.
Villafuerte proposed to then-President Duterte five years ago that a viable solution to the recurring flooding in the region was the dredging and desilting of the BRB, which encompasses eight (8) sub-basins or watersheds—Libmanan-Pulantana, Ragay Hills, Thiris, Naga-Yabo, Pawili River, Waras-Lalo, Naporog and Quinali—that are all in CamSur.
Villafuerte said he brought up anew his Duterte-era proposal to Mr. Marcos during the President’s visit last Oct. 26, and it was fortunate that the President was receptive to the idea and then directed DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan to review the defunct BRBDP.
In a situation briefing in Naga City after his visit earlier in the day to Bula, CamSur, President Marcos directed Bonoan last Saturday to reevaluate the BRBDP, as he said that the record floods caused by “Kristine”—the levels of which, he said, were twice as high as those experienced in Bicol during “Ondoy” in 2009—required a permanent solution to prevent a repetition in the future.
“Itong mga lugar sa Batangas, mga lugar sa Cavite, nawala kaagad ang tubig. Dito (CamSur and other Bicol areas), hindi nawawala ang tubig. But that’s the proverbial problem of the Bicol River Basin. Kaya’t kailangan talaga nating pag-isipan what are we going to do with the long-term because you cannot expect any changes,” the President said at the Naga briefing.
“Next time it rains, heto na naman tayo. It would be the same situation all over again. So, we have to find a long-term solution. Pinag-aaralan ko ito and I found that in 1973 there was the Bicol River Basin Development Project,” President Marcos said. “Yun lamang, hindi natapos. In 1986 when the government changed, nawala na ‘yung project. Basta’t natigil. So, we have to revisit it now. Iba na ang conditions ngayon with the advent of climate change.”
Bonoan then informed the President that the BRBDP was updated last July under a Philippine-Korea project, and it includes a feasibility study for flood control.
He told the President that the DPWH expects the completion of a detailed engineering design by early 2025, with civil works projected to begin by late next year or in early 2026.
While the DPWH is still undertaking the BRBDP study and detailed engineering design, Villafuerte said it would do well for the DBM to release funds for the immediate dredging of the river.