OCD exec raises concern on creation of disaster resilience department

A JOINT Senate panel agreed on Monday to create the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), but an Office of Civil Defense (OCD) official said such an agency might could be “overwhelming” considering the many aspects of disaster management. OCD Undersecretary Ricardo B. Jalad raised concern on the integration of different disaster-related functions into one office. “That would be a very big function to be placed under one department,” Mr. Jalad told the panel, suggesting that the function of the DDR be limited to planning. “Lead role can be latched in the department. For the implementation, it would still rely on the lead agencies.” He cited as an example the rehabilitation of Marawi City, which was devastated in the 2017 seige staged by Islamic State-affiliated local extremists. “For Marawi alone sir, it will be overwhelming for one department to undertake all those reconstruction.” Senator Francis N. Tolentino explained that the creation of the new department would not be overwhelming as existing agencies — such as the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration — will only be transferred. BFP is currently under the Department of Interior and Local Government while PHIVOLCS and PAGASA are under the Department of Science and Technology. The Senate joint panel also discussed the bureaucratic and budgetary concerns in establishing a new government office. —