The Department of Budget and Management has released an initial P362 million from the Local Government Support Fund to rebuild public facilities wrecked by the June 8 magnitude 7.8 earthquake, with the money going directly to Sarangani, South Cotabato and General Santos City — a fast-track disbursement that also shifts accountability for the funds onto local chief executives.
MANILA — The Department of Budget and Management has released an initial P362 million to jumpstart the rehabilitation of Mindanao communities devastated by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck on June 8, 2026, the agency said. According to the Philippine News Agency, the funds are drawn from the Local Government Support Fund and will be downloaded directly to affected local governments to accelerate recovery and restore critical infrastructure in the hardest-hit areas.
Where the money goes
The P362 million is split among three local governments, the DBM said as reported by Philstar and PNA: P140 million to Sarangani province, P122 million to South Cotabato, and P100 million to the City Government of General Santos. For Sarangani, the release covers the rehabilitation of multipurpose buildings, a local road, and the construction of a bridge in Alabel town, plus the rehabilitation of a hospital and the construction of a local road in Glan — the coastal town that recorded the heaviest casualties.
The release was ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who on June 16 directed the faster release of aid and recovery funds for quake victims, according to the Manila Times. It follows an earlier P278-million aid package the administration said it released for the affected areas, per the Daily Tribune.
The scale of the damage
The June 8 earthquake was among the deadliest to hit Mindanao in years. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council confirmed 47 dead in the region, with Glan alone reporting 21 deaths, nine missing, and more than 109,000 residents affected, according to earlier accounts from Glan Mayor Victor James Yap Sr., who had appealed for national assistance after his town's P10-million quick response fund was exhausted. Across the region, the NDRRMC reported over 145,000 people displaced and more than 3,000 homes damaged, with the national government drawing on a P13.14-billion Quick Response Fund pool for relief.
Context and the accountability question
By routing the money through the Local Government Support Fund and downloading it straight to LGUs, the DBM both speeds disbursement and places responsibility for how it is spent squarely on local chief executives. The agency has used similar language in recent releases: in setting the 2027 National Tax Allotment earlier this month, the DBM pointedly reminded local officials that accountability for public funds rests on them. That framing matters in a year dominated by the flood control corruption scandal, in which billions in infrastructure money allegedly disappeared into ghost and substandard projects — making transparent tracking of post-quake reconstruction spending a live public-interest concern rather than a routine accounting step.
The release also lands against a strained fiscal backdrop. Government infrastructure spending fell sharply in early 2026 amid the corruption crackdown, and economic managers have narrowed the year's growth target to 5.5–6.5 percent. Emergency disbursements like this one add to spending pressures even as the debt-to-GDP ratio hovers above 60 percent. As of this report, the DBM had not published a consolidated public-facing ledger of total quake-related releases or a timeline for liquidation reporting by the recipient LGUs.
Sources
- Aubrey Rose Inosante, "DBM releases P362 million for Mindanao quake aid," Philstar, June 18, 2026 — philstar.com/2535987
- "DBM releases initial P362M for rehabilitation of quake-hit Mindanao," Philippine News Agency, June 2026 — pna.gov.ph/articles/1277393
- "Mindanao earthquake: P362M released for aid — Recto," Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 2026 — newsinfo.inquirer.net/2247379
- "Marcos orders faster release of aid, recovery funds for Mindanao quake victims," Manila Times, June 16, 2026 — manilatimes.net