MANILA, Philippines – For a country hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year, one would think that the Philippines would know a thing or two about spending budget intended for disaster response and recovery.

But a recent study from Oxfam Pilipinas showed that the Philippine government underspent disaster funds by P118.4 billion from 2016 to 2020. 

At the forefront of disaster response are local government units, which the study found to be the main source of underspending.

In this episode, Rappler environment reporter Iya Gozum and community head Pia Ranada talks to Romulo Tagalo, senior policy advocacy officer at Oxfam, about the challenges and low-hanging fruits in disaster budgeting and management.

Bookmark this page or tune in to Rappler’s YouTube channel on Saturday, November 25, at 5 pm.

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– Rappler.com