Indonesia

1,715 towns and cities reminded of available People’s Survival Fund

Bobby Lagsa

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1,715 towns and cities reminded of available People’s Survival Fund
The Climate Change Commission needs to disburse about P2 billion ($43.4 million) of this special fund

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – The Climate Change Commission (CCC) on Wednesday, June 8, called on 1,715 towns and cities to use the People’s Survival Fund for their climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction (DRR) projects. 

Created in 2015, the People’s Survival Fund (PSF) is a special fund in the National Treasury that will finance climate change adaptation programs and projects. The government needs to disburse about P2 billion ($43.4 million) of the PSF. (READ: People’s Survival Fund now open to poor, climate-vulnerable LGUs)

CCC Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman said that only less than a hundred local government units (LGUs) went to their office to apply for the PSF.

“But even those who filed to access funds were not approved because they lacked basic documents required to fund their projects,” De Guzman said.

The problem, according to De Guzman, is that LGUs are unaware of the application process and possible projects intended for climate mitigation.

The CCC requires LGUs to submit the following requirements to access the PSF: 

  • Sanggunian/Board Resolution affirming the interest of LGU or community organizations to apply and authorizing the head executive to enter into an agreement with Board for the implementation of the proposed project
  • Certified true copies of Accreditation* and SEC Registration/Incorporation papers (for community organizations only)
  • Organizational Structure (with Officials/Board/Members updated General Information Sheet)
  • Audited Financial Statement for the last 3 years
  • Project Proposal
  • Vulnerability/Risk Assessment/Hazard Maps/ or any relevant document that explains climate risk exposure
  • Feasibility study (if applicable)
  • Administrative order/executive order creating the LGU/community prganization project implementation unit(with the General Information Sheet of the members)
  • Minutes and highlights of consultation with stakeholders for the project development
  • Database of stakeholders consulted (name, organization, contact number, affiliation)
  • Sex-aggregated data in project consultation and project beneficiaries
  • Program of Work
  • Detailed Cost Estimates of the Project
  • ECC and CNC (if applicable)
  • Results Framework (milestones, targets and indicators)
  • Certificate of No Derogatory Record of the officials/board/members
  • All other necessary documents as maybe required upon evaluation of the application

De Guzman urged LGUs to access the fund to serve their communities better, saying that non-action on climate and disaster risks is a social sin – “an injustice to the poor and most vulnerable.”

Vulnerable LGUs are priority

Aksyon Klima national coordinator Ruel Cabile said LGUs that are prone to disasters are priority for programs such as climate change mitigation, DRR, and policy development and response.

“As it stands right now, LGUs [that] did not experience calamities do not prioritize climate change mitigation projects and DRR enhancement programs,” Cabile said.

With the Philippines’ vulnerability to almost all types of natural disasters – such as flooding, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis – “LGUs should change this mindset. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness can save the government billions of pesos spent on disaster response,” he added.

In the Global Climate Risk Index 2016, the Philippines ranked 6th among countries hit by natural disasters in 2014.

Climate Change Commission to train LGUs

As a response to the lack of application and to equip LGUs with technical knowledge on how to access the PSF, the CCC is embarking on a training program that will empower the LGUs on climate mitigation.

In 2016, the agency spearheaded the Communities for Resilience (Core), which is intended for LGUs around the country’s 18 river basin system.

De Guzman said the forum brought together LGUs around Bauayan-Malungon, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Tagoloan river basins, “with the aim of increasing the capacities of local communities on reducing disaster risks and adapting to climate change.”

He also pointed out the sad reality that sectors mired in poverty, such as farmers and fisherfolk and informal settler, live in danger zones. They farm or hold assets in areas more exposed to droughts and floods, “which put their homes, crops, livestocks and even their own lives at greater risk,” De Guzman said.

The CCC will be putting up permanent institutions for training LGUs all year round.

“As disasters become more prevalent, the higher is the right of the poor to social protection and the higher is the duty of government to reduce their disaster vulnerability and liberate them from the vicious cycle of poverty and risk,” De Guzman said. – Rappler.com

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