President Duterte has committed P2 billion to help those affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette late this week, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles announced.
Duterte made the commitment during his meeting with the local chief executives when he visited the provinces ravaged by Typhoon Odette late this week.
In an interview with Super Radyo DZBB, Nograles was asked if the government has enough funds to help the victims of the typhoon, especially with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
"Hahanapan po talaga natin ng paraan ang lahat ng pangangailangan especially pagdating sa pondo (We will really look for ways to address all our needs, especially when it comes to funding)," he said Sunday morning, December 19.
The acting Palace spokesman said President Duterte himself has made an allocation of P2 billion to help those affected by the typhoon.
"Si Pangulong Duterte (President Duterte) has already committed P2 billion, yung funding na ibibigay niya na P2 billion, yung i-a-allocate niya (he will allocate P2 billion), to help," Nograles said.
"Ito ay sinabi niya rin sa mga governors na nakausap niya kahapon. To help yung needs natin para sa mga naging biktima ng Typhoon Odette (He made this statement to the governors yesterday. To help the needs of the victims of Typhoon Odette)," he added.
On Friday evening, President Duterte admitted that the government was still trying to raise the money to help the people affected by the typhoon as most of the country's funds went to the COVID-19 response efforts.
"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 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.