THE pro-impeachment lawmakers or the Movement 188 will donate P1 million to the victims of magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Negros and Cebu provinces last Monday as death toll increases.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, one of the group’s leaders, said P500,000 of the donation will come from Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo “Albee” Benitez.

“Movement 188 will donate P1 million to  the victims of earthquake in Central Visayas. P500,000 of the P1 million  will come from Rep. “Albee” Benitez of Negros Occidental, lead convenor of 188,” said Evardone.

Evardone disclosed that Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. and lawmakers from Region 6 will also contribute to the fund which they will turn over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

He said convenors of the Movement 188 who will contribute to the fund are Reps. Maricar Zamora-Apsay (Compostella Valley), Joy Bernos (Abra), Bem Noel (An Waray), Rodel Batocabe (Ako Bicol), Cesar Sarmiento (Catanduanes), Mel Sarmiento (Western Samar), Roger Espina (Biliran), Maximo Dalog (Mt. Province), Roy Loyola (Cavite), Carlo Lopez (Manila), Leo Ocampos (Misamis Occidental), Rene Relampagos (Bohol) and Nancy Catamco (North Cotabato).

“While Movement 188 is primarily pushing for structural reforms in our society to strengthen democratic institutions, we cannot ignore the urgent needs of victims of calamities. We need to contribute not only to help provide their basic needs but also to give them hope and inspire them to move forward,” said Evardone.

Meanwhile, Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino urged the government to map out a “battle plan” to save thousands of Filipinos from possible death and displacement and lessen the damage to livelihood and infrastructure during calamities.

In House Resolution 2057, Palatino asked the concerned government agencies to utilize the P21.7 billion calamity budget for 2012 to implement a more appropriate plan of action to prevent deaths and damages in times of disasters.

Palatino called on the government to make a serious examination of environment laws, policies and programs to address the root causes of disasters.

According to Palatino, the absence of a proper disaster battle plan of the national government to mitigate disasters renders the billions of pesos for the calamity fund questionable.

“The utilization of such funds should not remain limited to monitoring and reactive response but geared towards pre-disaster activities and infrastructure such as typhoon drills, pre-positioned relief goods, a proactive warning system, and a nationwide emergency response system that is based on a clear disaster-risk reduction and climate adoption plan,” said Palatino.