Senator Francis Pangilinan (Courtesy: Wendell D. Alinea / Senate Social Media Unit)
Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to establish a public online dashboard that would allow Filipinos to monitor how the government spends El Niño response funds and assess the results of its interventions.
In a statement, Pangilinan asked Marcos to direct the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, through the Office of Civil Defense and other agencies, to implement a unified El Niño action plan with designated officials, measurable targets and regular public updates.
“The backbone of all this is the proper spending of the people’s money. It should be clear to the public where the funds are going, what the government is doing, and what the results of these measures are,” he said.
The proposed dashboard forms part of Pangilinan’s eight-point action plan as chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, which also calls for declaring a state of calamity or imminent disaster in affected or threatened areas, as allowed by law.
Other recommendations include identifying available funds, pre-positioning relief supplies, providing livelihood assistance, enforcing price controls, penalizing hoarding and profiteering, and protecting national water supplies.
The dashboard would consolidate information on weather forecasts, damage assessments, water levels, emergency needs, budget allocations, supply inventories and price advisories.
Depending on the urgency, agencies would post updates every 24 hours or weekly. The platform would also track fund disbursements, relief distribution, households assisted, completed agricultural and water interventions, resolved price complaints and legal actions against violators.
Pangilinan said the proposal builds on his earlier push for the Department of Agriculture to establish a Farm-to-Market Road Watch Portal to monitor rural infrastructure projects amid controversies over flood-control spending.
He urged the public to monitor government spending and report irregularities.
“Let us watch over the funds and see if the money you worked hard for is actually going to those in need. Report it if you see any irregularities. Use your social media accounts to stay vigilant and call out those who should be held accountable. This is the people’s money, so there must be clear results and government accountability for how it is spent,” he said.