Give investors a break–lawmaker

DESTROYED houses brought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Tolosa, Leyte FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A lawmaker on Saturday said the government should entice the private sector to invest in infrastructure and programs that promote resiliency by giving them incentives for undertaking such measures.

Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, a member of the Parliamentarians Advisory Group of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said it would be better to focus on programs that would prevent calamities from becoming full-blown disasters, and the government must not be alone in the endeavor and should get businesses and individuals to invest in them as well.

Sarmiento also supported plans for a Calamity Resiliency Fund that would be used to strengthen vulnerable infrastructure and communities to help them withstand calamities.

The government could provide incentives such as tax breaks or preferential loan rates to businesses investing in buildings that could withstand the onslaught of nature, for instance, Sarmiento said.

While the country’s finance managers may balk at the loss of revenue from such a plan, he said that in the long run, the government would spend less to rebuild damaged infrastructure, and there would also be less damage to the economy.

He noted that in some countries, the banks offered preferential interest rates to developers who undertake disaster-resilient projects. Leila B. Salaverria

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