Acting Senate President Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian said on Tuesday that he will personally visit Mindanao following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted Mindanao, which caused widespread damage to buildings, schools, roads, and bridges.
“We are coordinating with agencies to see what help we can bring. I personally intend to go there within the week, and some of my colleagues are also planning to visit,” Gatchalian said in Filipino.
In a radio interview with DZRH, Gatchalian said the upper chamber is focused on assisting affected communities, ensuring sufficient funding for reconstruction efforts is provided, saying, “For 2026, fortunately, there is a large allocation in the NDRRMC fund—almost ₱20 billion for reconstruction that the national government can use to rebuild damaged structures there.”
According to Gatchalian, the national government can also tap nearly ₱150 billion from the Local Government Support Fund to aid reconstruction projects in their respective areas, such as heavily damaged hospitals in General Santos City.
The secretary also said that the newly appointed Finance Committee Chairman, JV Ejercito, has begun coordinating with local officials to identify priority reconstruction needs of schools, roads, and bridges through substantial government spending.
“I am particularly concerned about schools because we already have a shortage of classrooms. If more schools are damaged, that shortage will only worsen,” Gatchalian said.
The Senate is expected to continue coordinating with national agencies and local governments as recovery and reconstruction efforts move forward in earthquake-hit areas of Mindanao.
