DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 Jan) – The city council approved a P4-million financial assistance fund for areas hit by landslides and floods due to tropical depression Agaton and the low pressure area during the last few days that affected areas in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.
The ordinance, approved on suspended rules, doled out P2 million for the local government unit of Davao Oriental and the municipalities of Compostela, Monkayo, Montevista and New Bataan in Compostela Valley.
The ordinance was a result of the request of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte for the council to convene in a special session so the assistance could be made.
Finance committee chair Danilo Dayanghirang noted during deliberations that the areas were already declared as under a state of calamity because of the long weather disturbance that brought in rains, causing landslides and floods.
Dayanghirang, during the deliberations, said the fund came from the city’s disaster response fund, or five percent % of the city’s 2014 budget.
Last year, the city also doled out P25.5 million for areas hit by super typhoon Yolanda and the earthquake in Bohol and Cebu.
Majority floor leader Tomas Monteverde IV told reporters that the ordinance followed the auditing guidelines that the city government has to go through in giving assistance to calamity hit areas.
