Philippines: New law ensures funds for LGUs’ climate change adaptation projects

Tugegarao City - The newly enacted Republic Act 1012 or the People’s Survival Fund Law will guarantee sourcing out of funds to augment local governments units’ (LGU) capabilities for disaster risk reduction and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Representative Lorenzo Tañada III, in his visit here, said the law authorizes the Climate Change Commission (CCC) to receive donations from local and international funding agencies and to look for other means of fund sourcing to support LGUs’ program on climate change adaptation and mitigation and to finance their rehabilitation and disaster mitigation efforts.

“This law will guarantee a sustainable program to save the people and their properties from risks as per effect of disasters. Many provinces were identified as vulnerable to different types of disaster so we need to device a system to ensure people’s survival,” Tañada said.

He explained that foreign countries, especially those who are big contributories of the emission of chlorofluorocarbon that destroys the ozone, have committed to donate funds for climate change adaptation purposes to other countries.

During the first year of implementation, a P1-billion revolving fund from the General Appropriations Act was allotted.

Tañada said LGUs can avail of the fun by submitting a proposal to the commission to identify projects and programs to be funded.

The priorities under the law, Tañada explained, are water and sanitation projects in the disaster vulnerable areas and risk transfer scheme, especially relocations of frequently flooded and those in the landslide-prone areas.