Suphanat points out that the flood relief budget of 5.29 billion baht is nearly depleted. He criticizes the government for underestimating damage by more than four times and urges the Cabinet to urgently increase the budget ceiling, warning against further delays in aid payments to the public.
On 17 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Suphanat Minchainan, MP for Bangkok's 9th district from the People’s Party, revealed that following two Cabinet-approved rounds of flood relief totaling 5.29 billion baht, about 5.215 billion baht has already been disbursed. This leaves almost no funds available to assist other victims, pending clarification on when the Cabinet will approve additional budget. This highlights serious delays and severe misjudgment of the situation by the government.
“We must question the government and the Ministry of Interior why the budget figures calculated after the floods occurred still underestimated the damage by as much as four times,” Suphanat said.
Suphanat added that, according to the latest data, the government has provided relief to approximately 683,000 flood victims. However, another 1.7 million people nationwide (including 700,000 in Bangkok alone) have applied but not yet received approval. It is estimated that around 12 billion baht in additional budget will be required to provide full relief coverage.
He also stated that the government’s shortcomings in flood management are reflected not only in failed response and assistance but also in the erroneous relief budget calculations. When the government approves insufficient funds that do not correspond to reality, it causes aid efforts to stall, leaving many whose homes have been flooded since last month waiting for weeks without receiving relief payments.
“Prime Minister Anutin, in his role as Interior Minister, must urgently push this matter into a Cabinet meeting to request approval for additional flood relief funds without delay. We must not let our fellow citizens endure more hardship. Homes have been flooded since last month, and after three weeks, relief payments have still not reached them,” Suphanat concluded.