SEN. Francis Pangilinan urged government agencies on Tuesday to identify funds for mitigating the threats of a potentially severe El Niño.
”Let us determine now where we can source the funds and how we can quickly put them to use. We should not wait for the problem to hit before scrambling to find the money. For once, let us be proactive rather than reactive,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
”We cannot wait for crops to dry up, fisherfolk to lose their catch and food prices to rise before we act,” he added.
This comes as Congress deliberates on the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027, which includes larger allocations for disaster response and recovery.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has proposed P45.67 billion for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF), 14.68 percent higher than the P39.82 billion allocated under the 2026 General Appropriations Act.
Of the proposed disaster fund, P30 billion would go to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Program, while P14.67 billion would support the rehabilitation and reconstruction of local government infrastructure. Another P1 billion is proposed for the People’s Survival Fund.
For 2026, the DBM reported that P17.30 billion, or 43 percent of the NDRRMF allocation, had been released as of Sept. 25, leaving P22.52 billion available for eligible requirements for the rest of the year.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has warned of a very strong El Niño, raising concerns over below-normal rainfall, drought, and the availability of water for agriculture and household consumption.
The Department of Agriculture reported P6.87 billion in agricultural damage and losses across 14 regions as of Sept. 26, affecting more than 223,000 farmers and fisherfolk.
Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, called for the immediate mobilization of available funds as part of his eight-point action plan to address the threat of super El Niño.
The plan calls for declaring a state of calamity, prepositioning supplies and delivering assistance to affected communities, protecting farms and water systems, enforcing price freezes, cracking down on profiteering and hoarding, providing livelihood assistance, and establishing a public accountability mechanism.
Citing Section 10 of Republic Act 12287, or the Declaration of State of Imminent Disaster Act, Pangilinan identified several potential funding sources for disaster preparedness and risk reduction.
These include local disaster risk reduction and management funds, the Special Trust Fund comprising unexpended balances of local disaster risk reduction and management funds, regular appropriations of national government agencies, and the NDRRMF.
Pangilinan expressed concern over the possible underutilization of P112 billion in unprogrammed appropriations under the 2026 national budget, which includes allocations for risk management and foreign-assisted projects, as well as P104 billion earmarked for similar purposes under the proposed 2027 National Expenditure Program.
He urged the DBM to clarify which existing appropriations and available balances could be tapped for specific El Niño interventions, how much could be mobilized immediately, which agencies would release the money and when it would reach affected communities.
”These funds must not be wasted or squandered. The DBM must clarify existing appropriations, available balances and how much can be used for specific El Niño interventions,” Pangilinan said.
