đź“·Â Makabayan president Liza Maza
In the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon Kristine, Makabayan president Liza Maza calls on the Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration to urgently establish a state compensation fund and expedite its release to all Filipinos whose homes, properties, and livelihoods have been severely affected.
She said that all confidential and intelligence funds must be repurposed for direct relief to Filipino families whose communities have been destroyed by the typhoon’s massive flooding and widespread damage.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved a total of P10.29 billion budget for CIFs, of which P4.37B have been allocated for Confidential Expenses and P5.92B for Intelligence Expenses. The biggest amount is in the Office of the President (OP) at PhP4.5 billion.
Maza said, “The government must reallocate all confidential and intelligence funds toward disaster relief and rebuilding efforts for affected communities. This is a national emergency, and Filipinos need real, immediate help not empty promises.”
She said that the State Compensation fund should be in the form of direct cash assistance for farmers to replant lost crops and for small businesses to reopen their shops and services.
“We need to provide free seeds, fertilizer, and equipment for farmers, as well as subsidies for damaged infrastructure and inventory for small businesses,” she added.
The severe flooding across the provinces of Bicol, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, and surrounding cities exposes anew the government’s long-standing failure to mitigate the impacts of typhoons by protecting the environment.
“We denounce how local and national authorities have allowed corporations to expand their destructive mining, quarrying, and logging operations despite repeated warnings and protests from affected communities and environmental advocates. There is nothing natural or accidental about the catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Typhoon Kristine. All this destruction is the result of deliberate neglect and environmental exploitation,” said Maza.
Environmental groups have long been campaigning against the environmental degradation caused by mining, logging, quarrying and related companies, saying that their activities have weakened natural defenses against typhoons, making communities more vulnerable to floods, landslides, and other calamities.
“Despite clear evidence that these operations exacerbate the impacts of storms, the government continues to prioritize corporate profits over the welfare of Filipinos. We are now suffering the effects of their environmental misdeeds and abuses,” Maza further said.
“The Bayanihan spirit, while commendable, is no longer enough. A lasting solution must be implemented—one that involves ending environmental exploitation, exacting accountability, and prioritizing the needs of Filipinos, especially the farmers and the rural poor. It is the farmers and small businesses—those already vulnerable—that bear the brunt of the damage, jeopardizing food security and local economies,” Maza concluded.#
