The provincial government on Wednesday officially funneled P101.1 million, 5 percent of the province’s P2-billion budget this year, to emergency and disaster response programs in quake-stricken Bohol.

Governor Edgar Chatto announced the allocation during this year’s first full council meeting of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDDRRMC) at the Governor’s Mansion.

The multi-million Local Disaster Risk Management Fund (LDRMF) was divided into two portions including pre-disaster programs which get 70 percent of the budget at P70,822,344.30 while P30,352,433,40 or 30 percent was allocated to quick emergency response projects.

The budget will be used to conduct training, build infrastructure, purchase equipment and supplies, and fund initiatives for response to calamities such as the impending El Niño.

For his part, Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II said that the council is also preparing for possible emergency situations during the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) meetings in Bohol next month.

The PDRRMC’s first full council meeting was also joined by officials from the Office of the Civil Defense-Central Visayas, Philippine National Police, military, and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, among other government agencies. (RT)