State of calamity may last one year

MANILA, Philippines – Price controls may remain until 2010 and government is expected to have a firmer hand in rebuilding areas ravaged by “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” as Malacañang considers extending its declaration of a nationwide state of calamity for at least one year.

This was revealed by deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez who stressed that the plan is aimed at allowing the government and the public to immediately respond to weather disturbances that have become increasingly deadly and destructive in the last few years.

Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. stressed that purchase of equipment or hiring of services for relief and rehabilitation would still be subject to bidding but governed by “special conditions” to ensure swifter results. He did not elaborate.

In a news briefing, Golez said damage caused by both Ondoy and Pepeng reached P8.4 billion as of yesterday and the figure is expected to increase in the coming days as the full extent of the destruction unfolds.

“Normally, by law if I’m not mistaken, the state of calamity is effective I think one year from the time, one or two years, from the time it has been declared so that’s the time frame,” Golez said.

He said there was no need for a formal lifting of the declaration as such would “self-terminate” anyway when normalcy returns.

Officials said the declaration would help authorities effectively implement price controls as well as allow local government units to easily access their respective calamity funds, which represent five percent of their respective budgets.

Mrs. Arroyo declared Metro Manila and nearby provinces under a state of calamity in the wake of Ondoy’s devastation on Sept. 26.

She later made the coverage of her declaration nationwide to speed up relief and rehabilitation efforts and as Pepeng threatened to wreak more havoc. She said the order was meant to keep prices of basic goods under control as well as maintain peace and order.

It was the first time that a nationwide declaration of a state of calamity was made to help the country brace for a disaster.

Officials explained that while Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite were the hardest hit by Ondoy, other parts of the country as far as Mindanao had also been battered by rains and flooding.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila earlier strongly pushed for the declaration of a state of calamity due to reports of rampant overpricing of basic commodities, construction materials and automotive supplies and services, and even funeral services.

With the declaration, LGUs can easily draw from their calamity funds and use them to buy supplies and equipment that they can “pre-position” near high-risk areas to allow them to respond quicker to emergencies, Palace officials said.

Golez said the national government has a calamity fund of P2 billion while the total calamity funds of LGUs amount to P20 billion.

He noted that the Philippines in 2003 was considered the third most disastrous country in the world due to record number of typhoons hitting the archipelago.

Ammunition for critics

But Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez said Golez’s statement should be put into proper context as this could be peddled by administration critics as another attempt by Mrs. Arroyo to exercise emergency powers.

“You cannot say that the declaration (of state of calamity) would last for a specific period, otherwise, we will be misunderstood by critics again,” Gonzalez said.

He said that as far as he knows Congress or local officials can lift such as declaration anytime under certain conditions.

“That (duration) would depend on the conditions on the ground,” Gonzalez told The STAR in a telephone interview.

“You have to closely see how things work on the ground like what we have now, strong typhoons coming one after the other,” he said.

He said it was also fortunate that Pepeng spared Metro Manila. Golez said at least five more typhoons are expected to hit the country in the next two months.

Gonzalez said that if the concern of local officials would be tapping emergency funds, they could just “re-declare” a state of calamity if the need arises.

The Palace lawyer earlier said that under a state of emergency, the Constitution allows the government to take over vital installations.

“But these are in cases of large-scale calamities,” Gonzalez said, adding that such moves are really on police powers “like forced evacuations.”

“That falls under the general welfare clause (in the Constitution),” he said.

When Mrs. Arroyo made the declaration, Favila immediately announced that the authorities were prepared to make warrantless arrests of businessmen caught in the act of violating the government-imposed price ceilings on basic goods.

Aside from the basic commodities, Favila said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to release a new list of products covered by price controls to include construction materials, and possibly, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas.

He said the National Bureau of Investigation has placed under DTI control some 100 agents to check on traders and businesses taking advantage of the calamity, including funeral parlors.

Favila said the Philippine National Police has also alerted its personnel nationwide for activities of unscrupulous traders.

Golez, meanwhile, dismissed criticisms that the declaration was a sign that the government was unprepared.

“The declaration of state of calamity is not a measure of being prepared or unprepared. It’s something that has to be done to bring back normalcy. Even if you get the most sophisticated equipment and you can only fight Mother Nature to a certain degree and then the community gets hit and the community needs help, so a declaration of state of calamity must be made,” he said.

He also said it was ironic that the provinces or municipalities often hit by natural calamities are almost always the poorest, and thus have small calamity funds.

Andaya said it would be nearly impossible to predict how much calamity fund would be needed for a given year, especially now with climate change making its presence felt.

He said the budget for calamity fund, “by its nature and historical data on its utilization,” is merely the minimum amount available in cases of calamities.

“There is no formula to predict the number of typhoons in a year,” Andaya said. “That’s why in 2008, the calamity fund was P6 billion but releases were at P4 billion with 21 typhoons.”

He said in 2007, the calamity fund was at P1 billion but the releases amounted to P13 billion. –Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star)