The 2027 Budget bill cuts the Disaster Risk Management Program of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred) by 30.6% in nominal terms, according to Emol. The figure drew criticism from opposition deputies after the mudslide that hit the San Carlos de Apoquindo area in Las Condes on Thursday.
Under the bill submitted by the executive branch, that allocation would fall from $842,253,000 in 2026 to $584,311,000 in 2027. The difference amounts to $257,942,000.
The cut comes on top of another already implemented this year. According to Emol, the Budget Directorate (Dipres) website lists Decree 371, signed in May by Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz. That decree reduced Senapred's 2026 budget by $918 million.
The May adjustment included $574 million less for goods and services and $274 million less for the Disaster Risk Management Program. It also cut nearly $70 million in personnel expenses.
The chair of the Chamber's Emergency, Disaster and Firefighter Committee, Guillermo Valdés (PDG), said he is "categorically" opposed to the cuts. He announced that he would speak with the minister to prevent the reduction, because "the safety of our people is a priority."
The president of the Christian Democratic Party (DC), Deputy Álvaro Ortiz, directly challenged Quiroz. "It seems that Minister Quiroz understands nothing," he said. He recalled that Chile changed its emergency institutions after the 2010 earthquake, a process that led to the creation of Senapred as the successor to the former Onemi.
The Party for Democracy (PPD) said in a statement that the 2027 Budget "does not restore a single peso." According to the party, Senapred will have 2.5% less in real terms than the amount approved last year. The party demanded that the funding be restored immediately and that the environmental cuts be removed from the bill.
Deputy Constanza Schönhaut (Broad Front) told T13 that this year's cuts totaled "close to a billion pesos." She called for decisions based on evidence rather than "short-term or excessively ideological measures."
From the governing coalition, Deputy Eduardo Durán (RN) did not directly address the cuts. However, he said the budget debate should "strengthen prevention, Senapred's capacity and coordination with municipalities."
The source does not include a response from the Ministry of Finance to the criticism. The debate will continue as the 2027 Budget moves through Congress, where Valdés announced that he would seek to reverse the reduction with Quiroz.
