Poe, House bloc bat for creation of emergency management department
Senator Grace Poe pushed yesterday for the creation by Congress of a department expanding the government’s national disaster preparedness program that would be focused solely on risk management and emergency response.
Poe, an independent presidential candidate, made the call since the Philippines is admittedly one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to natural calamities. This fact was highlighted by this week’s typhoon ‘’Lando’’ that wreak Luzon.
The lady senator said the new department should be an expansion of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) which would take charge whenever calamities occur on a national or regional scope.
Poe’s call was echoed by the House Independent Bloc, which said that the proposal seeking the creation of a new government agency that would solely focus on relief and rehabilitation efforts should be revisited to ensure the immediate delivery of services and aid to calamity victims.
Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who heads the group, asked the House leadership to prioritize the passage of their measure seeking the creation of the Department of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (DDPEM), which shall effectively and exclusively handle all calamity-related operations.
“Nakakalungkot isipin na umabot na sa mahigit 14 ang patay dahil sa bagyo ayon sa National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC),” he said.
Government reports showed that deaths were recorded in Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Ifugao, Zambales, Quezon City, Mt. Province and Benguet.
“During these times our constituents are depending on us. Let us show them our concern by immediately providing their basic needs,” Romualdez said, as 58,476 families, or 283,486 people, were affected by the typhoon.
Romualdez's group is pushing for the approval of House Bill 3486, which calls for the creation of the DDPEM to replace NDRRMC.
The measure was filed in December 2013, a month after super typhoon Yolanda heavily ravaged Tacloban and other Visayan provinces.
Poe said the new agency she was proposing would be permanent, independent, and headed by someone with a Cabinet rank so that it could have direct access to the Office of the President.
“The role of emergency management has gotten bigger and more imperative as natural disasters have become harsher and more frequent through the years,” she said.
“Whoever will lead this new agency should have a fixed term, regardless of who is in Malacañang, freeing him from any political pressures that have no place in disaster response,” she pointed out.
Poe said the new department would be responsible for the establishment of a centralized response system that will attend to all kinds of disaster-related emergencies such as earthquakes, typhoons, flashfloods and landslides.
The department should possess the latest search-and-rescue equipment, as well as the authority to tap the government’s coastal and terrestrial assets for emergency response.
Poe stressed the need for a more organized and highly efficient national risk management and emergency response system.
“I find it ironic that we are the Call Center Capital of the world and yet we don’t have our own hotline for emergencies,” Poe said.
“Often, local government units (LGUs) and national agencies have their own initiatives, and we end up with a disjointed response in the face of calamities,’’ she added.