By Ben Rosario Assuring sufficient funding for relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by the Taal volcanic eruption, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano ordered three House of Representatives committees on Tuesday to act with dispatch in developing a comprehensive plan that would speed up help for Taal victims in Batangas, Cavite, and Laguna. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano (Alan Peter Cayetano / Facebook page/ MANILA BULLETIN) Cayetano issued the order as Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., called for a congressional inquiry into the capability of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs) to issue warnings of volcanic activity and assess the timely release of information to the public. “There is a need to have a proactive, and not a defensive, response from Phivolcs, concerned government agencies, and local governments with regard to their actions or inactions to the recent Taal volcano eruption,” Barzaga said as he filed House Resolution No. 643. Cayetano said Congress has approved a P16 billion allocation for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund for this year Out of this amount, P3.3 billion will go to aid and relief and rehabilitation services to communities affected by calamities, while P4.2 billion is allocated for the repair and reconstruction of permanent structures, and also capital expenditures. “We know that the local government units and other government agencies are already handling the rescue and relief operations so Congress can focus more on planning for the rehabilitation efforts,” Cayetano said. He said an effective comprehensive rehabilitation plan will “entail funding, logistical, and operational support from various government agencies.” “Different House committees and relevant government agencies as well as other urban planning experts can work on this plan to ensure that it is disaster-resilient and sustainable,” he added. The House leader noted that Philvolcs earlier announced that a prolonged eruption of up to seven months could be the worst case scenario given the volcano’s activities. “We need to collectively develop for short-term and long-term plans to restore and rehabilitate the affected areas to reinvigorate tourism and business in the affected provinces the soonest time possible,” Cayetano said. He has also encouraged the public to help the eruption victims through various means, including acting as volunteers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. “We have seen the power of Filipino bayanihan spirit in the past natural calamities that we have experienced, even in the past South East Asian Games.” Meanwhile, Barzaga noted that although Phivolcs had indeed issued warnings of Taal’s seismic activity as early as March 2019, there remained “a lack of dissemination of information in the hazards of the eruption.” “As early as 11 a.m. of 12 January 2020, when the Taal Volcano is already manifesting an increase in volcanic activity, there are no news bulletins or SMS alerts from the Philvolcs and other concerned government agencies,” he said. “To be sure, due to lack of information, in the afternoon of the same day, while Taal Volcano is already manifesting increased volcanic activity, people still traveled towards it.”