Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. urged Congress and local government officials to allocate funding for the completion and maintenance of the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) warehouse at Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City.
According to Teodoro, this facility is designed for the immediate deployment of essential supplies for field missions and disaster relief operations.
“There are local items that we asked Congressman Lordan Suan to ensure are included in the budget, such as the completion of the OCD (Office of the Civil Defense) facility. That amount is necessary. However, it will synergize with the community in terms of high security,” Teodoro stated on Sunday.
“But despite that, we need the support of the local government and the Congress because once this is done, we need a budget to run it, so it is not just the cost. The construction cost is also big. Costs are needed to maintain and use it correctly because a good facility is also a waste if we will not spend on maintenance.”
