By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The provincial government of Negros Occidental has received P131 million worth of financial assistance which would be used to aid the victims of super typhoon “Odette” in the province.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the National Housing Authority (NHA) handed over P90 million which would be used for the purchase of building materials, while the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) also handed over P41 million.

Lacson said he is currently waiting for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to give him the authority to sign a memorandum of agreement between the NHA and the provincial government.

As for the P41 million they received from the BTr, Lacson said they are waiting for the provisions as to how they will spend the money.

Last week, the Department of Budget and Management also released an initial P1 billion in cash assistance for the local government units (LGUs) that were affected by the typhoon.

The total funding requirement came from the Fiscal Year 2021 Contingent Fund and will be directly released by the BTr to the concerned LGUs through authorized government servicing banks./DGB, WDJ