President Marcos announced that the Office of the President (OP) has allocated P158-million financial assistance to local governments affected by the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that struck Davao Oriental last week.

According to Malacañang, P50 million will be given to the province of Davao Oriental while the towns of Manay, Banaybanay, and Lupon will get P15 million each.

Mati City and other towns such as Tarragona, Baganga, Boston, and Cateel will receive P10 million each. The municipalities of Caraga and San Isidro will get P5 million each while Governor Generoso will be given  P3 million.

"The reason na binibigay namin itong pondo sa inyo dahil as a former governor, I know that lahat ng bawat lugar may kaibahan sa pangangailangan (why we are giving the fund to you because as a former governor, I know that every area has different needs)," Marcos said during a situation briefing with local officials in Tarragona on Monday, Oct. 13. 

"And that's why ang thinking namin, ibigay na lang namin sa inyo yung pondo. Mas alam ninyo kaysa sa amin ang pangangailangan doon sa area ninyo, e (our thinking is to give the fund to you. You know better than us what your areas need)," Marcos added.

The President was in Davao Oriental to visit several municipalities and inspect public establishments that were hit by the strong earthquake.

He was also in the province to assess the damage and check on families affected by the earthquake.

The President conducted an on-site inspection of heavily-damaged facilities in Manay, the earthquake’s epicenter, including the Davao Oriental Provincial Hospital – Manay District in Barangay Central and Manay National High School in Barangay San Ignacio.

He also went to the municipality of Tarragona to inspect the Regional Evacuation Center, which remains unusable due to severe structural damage.  

Marcos also visited the temporary tents in the open grounds in front of the Tarragona Municipal Hall, where he reassured evacuees of the government’s ongoing support in rebuilding their communities after the disaster.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), on the other hand, provided various forms of assistance, including P10,000 cash to each of the 35 families with totally damaged houses, hot meals through the Mobile Kitchen Program, 255 family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items.

Last Oct 3, following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Cebu, Marcos said he would be asking the Congress to allocate additional funds intended to replenish the government’s quick response fund in the wake of calamities hitting the country.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the government still has P12 billion available in the contingent fund to support the response effort in case the disaster fund runs out.

"Nakausap po mismo natin ang pamunuan ng DBM at according to DBM, kung magkakaroon man at madi-deplete po ang NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council) funds, mayroon pa rin po tayong P12.005 billion sa contingent fund (We personally spoke with the leadership of the DBM, and according to them, if the NDRRM funds are depleted, we still have P12.005 billion available in the contingent fund)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Monday.

"At kung mauubos man po ang contingent fund dahil sunud-sunod po ang nangyayaring calamity sa ating bansa, maaasahan po natin kung may excess revenue, makakakuha po tayo sa unprogrammed appropriations mula sa SAGIP (And if the contingent fund also runs out due to the consecutive calamities happening in our country, we can rely on the availability of excess revenue to draw from the unprogrammed appropriations under SAGIP)," she added.

Castro, however, said that there is still no information whether the President has already talked to the lawmakers to raise the concerns in the disaster fund.