President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday said he would ask Congress to allocate additional emergency funds to replenish the government’s Quick Response Fund (QRF), which has been heavily depleted following a series of recent calamities across the country.
“Coming from Masbate, coming from Cebu, I will be going to the Congress, the House and the Senate para makapagbigay sila ng emergency funds,” Marcos said during a situation briefing in Bogo City, Cebu, after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the province on September 30.
The President noted that the QRFs of several agencies are nearly exhausted due to the government’s immediate assistance to areas affected by Super Typhoon Nando, Typhoon Opong, and the recent Cebu earthquake.
“’Yung mga QRF ng ibang mga agencies, paubos na. So, magre-release tayo ng Quick Response Fund para mayroon kayong magamit. We will have it released as quickly as possible,” he said.
President Marcos said he has directed Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman to coordinate the release of additional funds to support disaster response efforts.
Just a day earlier, Marcos visited Masbate, which sustained severe damage from Typhoon Opong, before traveling to Bogo City in northern Cebu, near the earthquake’s epicenter.
The QRF serves as a standby fund for government agencies that can be replenished upon approval of the President or the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
During his visit to Bogo City, President Marcos announced that the Office of the President would provide ₱50 million to the Cebu provincial government and ₱20 million each to Bogo City, Sogod, and San Remigio to augment their local calamity funds.
The municipalities of Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, Santa Fe, Tabogon, and Tabuelan will each receive ₱10 million from the Office of the President.
In addition, Marcos ordered the release of ₱20 million each to Department of Health (DOH) hospitals and ₱5 million each to provincial hospitals in Cebu as part of post-earthquake assistance.
He also instructed the DBM to release ₱150 million in Local Government Support Fund for the province of Cebu and ₱75 million each for Bogo City, San Remigio, and Medellin.
