People’s Survival Fund (Republic Act No. 10174)
Definition
The People’s Survival Fund, created by Republic Act No. 10174 in 2012 as an amendment to the Climate Change Act of 2009, is the Philippines’ long-term financing mechanism for climate adaptation. The fund provides dedicated money, appropriated annually at up to one billion pesos, for local governments and accredited community organizations to implement projects that help vulnerable communities adjust to climate change impacts.
Identities (Wikipedia/Wikidata/DBpedia)
- Wikipedia: N/A
- Wikidata: N/A
- DBpedia: N/A
Also Known As
PSF; RA 10174; People’s Survival Fund Act of 2012.
Examples and Analogies
A coastal municipality can tap the fund to build mangrove greenbelts, install rainwater harvesting, or shift farms to drought-tolerant crops. The PSF works like a national insurance pool for adaptation, paying now for measures that reduce the human and economic cost of future typhoons, droughts, and sea-level rise.
Usage Scenarios
Local government units, with community partners, submit project proposals to the PSF Board, which is led by the Climate Change Commission with the Department of Finance. Eligible work includes water sufficiency, agriculture and fisheries resilience, health protection, infrastructure monitoring of climate risks, and ecosystem-based adaptation.
Strategies
Proponents align proposals with local climate change action plans and national adaptation priorities, blending PSF financing with disaster risk reduction programs. The Board prioritizes highly vulnerable areas and uses accreditation rules to ensure community participation and project sustainability.
Security and Safety Measures
Fund governance requires project monitoring, auditing, and accreditation of proponent organizations to prevent misuse, while the focus on early warning systems and resilient infrastructure directly reduces casualties and damage from extreme weather.
Historical Context
RA 10174 was signed in August 2012 after advocacy following typhoons like Ondoy and Sendong underscored the country’s vulnerability. It complemented the Climate Change Act’s policy framework with money, and the first adaptation projects were approved in the mid-2010s, targeting farming, fishing, and water-scarce communities.
Challenges and Controversies
Annual appropriations have sometimes fallen short of the authorized billion-peso ceiling, and absorption has been slowed by proposal preparation capacity in poorer municipalities. Critics urge faster accreditation, simplified access for indigenous peoples and small organizations, and clearer measurement of adaptation outcomes.
Related Topic
Climate Change Commission