Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said Thursday, Nov. 3 that severe tropical storm (STS) ‘’Paeng’’ would figure largely in the deliberations on the proposed 2023 national budget once the Senate resumes regular session next week.
This came after Zubiri headed to Mindanao to donate relief to the local governments of affected provinces and cities hit by Paeng.
‘’We will have to consult with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and local governments to assess our recovery roadmap,’’ he said.
“Indeed, apart from personally handing over our donations, I am also here in Mindanao to hear directly from our local governments—what is the damage like on the ground? What will they need to rebuild and recover? And I will take all the answers back to the Senate when session resumes next week,’’ he added.
Zubiri made a three-province and two-city sweep on Thursday, hitting Zamboanga City, the Province of Maguindanao del Norte, Cotabato City, the Province of Maguindanao del Sur, and the Province of Sultan Kudarat, to turn over a total of 1,500 sacks of rice for affected communities.
The rice was entirely privately sourced, and no government funds were used in its procurement or distribution, he said.
“Paeng really battered Mindanao,” Zubiri added.
“The storm left a wreck across the country, but the damage and the loss here in Mindanao is especially devastating,’’ he stressed.
Zubiri emphasized that Mindanao would be needing sustained aid after Paeng.
“We’re here to deliver some relief goods for now, to make sure our affected communities don’t go hungry. And it is good to see so many private citizens doing the same. It really shows the heart of our people,’’ he said.
“But we also need to push for long-term solutions. We cannot continue to be reactive when it comes to disaster management, especially since there are lives at stake. We keep learning this the hard way. We have already lost over a hundred lives to Paeng,’’ he pointed out.
“We really need to streamline our response systems, and a strengthened national authority that will be able to effectively coordinate national and local actors—not only for disaster response, but especially preparedness and mitigation,” he added.
In Zamboanga, Zubiri’s donation was received by Mayor John Dalipe and First District Congressman Khymer Olaso.
For the Maguindanao del Norte leg of his visit, he first stopped by Broce Elementary School in the Municipality of Datu Odin Sinsuat, to turn the donation for the municipality over to Mayor Datu Lester Sinsuat and Acting Gov. Bai Fatima Ainee Sinsuat.
He then proceeded to Maguindanao del Norte and Cotabato City, where he handed over the rice donation to Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad Ali “Bruce” Matabalao and Mayor Datu Marshall Sinsuat of the Municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat.
He also made his way to the Municipality of Sultan Kudarat to turn the donation over to Rep. Bai Dimple Mastura, Mayor Datu Tucao Mastura, Vice Mayor Datu Shameem Mastura, and Acting Vice Gov. Sharifudin Mastura.
For Maguindanao del Sur, Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu received Zubiri’s donation; while Governor Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu received the donation for the Province of Sultan Kudarat.