President Duterte said the government is still trying to raise the needed money to help the people affected by typhoon "Odette", since most of the country's funds were funneled to its coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response efforts.
Duterte made the statement after Odette caused severe damages in many areas in Visayas and Mindanao on Thursday evening, Dec. 16.
In a virtual briefing on the effects of the typhoon on Friday evening, Dec. 17, the President said he was late to the meeting because he had to talk to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) about the funds for disaster response.
"We are trying to raise the money... Alam mo, depleted and budget natin (You know, our budget was depleted) immensely because of COVID," he confessed.
"Naubos talaga ang pera natin (We're really out of funds). We prioritized the expenses," he added.
He, however, assured the public the government is doing its best to address the effects of what he called the "imponderables" like typhoons.
"We're trying to scrimp how much we can raise so we can marshal it to the areas affected," Duterte said.
According to the President, he will personally go to the areas hit by Odette, expressing his concern about the condition of the people.
"I'm not so much worried about damage to structures, infrastructures of government. Ang takot ko is maraming namatay (What I'm afraid of is that many might have died)," Duterte said.
On Friday morning, Malacañang assured the residents affected by the onslaught of the typhoon of round-the-clock assistance as it reiterated its call to stay vigilant and coordinate with their respective local government units (LGUs).