(Image: President’s Office)

Colombia’s President Abelardo de la Espriella said he would declare an economic emergency and create a reconstruction fund for homes and small businesses that were destroyed in Monday’s earthquake.

In  a press statement, De la Espriella said that the government would initially support victims with temporary relief and will declare an economic emergency to find the funds for reconstruction.

Finance Minister Miguel Gomez said the government was not yet considering raising taxes to find the approximately COP20 trillion ($6.4 billion) that would at least be needed for reconstruction.

The president said his government would initially prioritize relief for the estimated 24,000 families from the west of the country who have lost their homes or businesses.

The temporary relief measures would include:

• The payment of public services for affected families by the government.

• Housing rent subsidies for those who lost their homes.

• Tax and financial relief measures.

• Economic support for the most vulnerable families.

• Support mechanisms for merchants and small business owners who have been affected by the earthquake.

As part of the emergency, De la Espriella announced the creation of a “Miracle Fund, an entity that will channel national and international contributions destined for the reconstruction of hospitals, educational centers, properties, roads, and airports that suffered damage from the earthquake.”

“The state of emergency must encompass economic reactivation measures that stimulate investment, reduce obstacles to project development, and generate more jobs in the affected areas,” said the president.

An economic emergency gives the president three months to issue decrees related to the cause of the emergency without having to go through Congress.

The legal validity of the decree declaring an emergency and those that follow will only be tested by the Constitutional Court.

At the time of publication the President’s Office had yet to issue its first decree.