House sees smooth sailing for passage of Disaster Resilience Dep’t

It will be smooth sailing for the passage in the House of Representatives of the bill proposing for the creation on a Department of Disaster Resilience even as the Duterte administration batted for stronger, swifter and more effective response to natural calamities and reduce the country’s vulnerability to natural hazards.

Upon instruction of the House leadership, plenary deliberations for House Bill 8056 or the proposed Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) Act was launched recently with its authors expressing confidence that it will be passed swiftly.

The bill consolidates 51 legislative measures filed on the topic of disaster control and management. Principal authors included Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez (Lakas-CMD, Leyte); Michael Odylon Romero (1-PACMAN Partylist); Alfred Vargas (PDP-Laban, Quezon City); Winston Castelo (PDPLaban, QuezonCity); Rodel Batocabe (Ako Bicol Partylist); Xavier Jesus Romualdo (PDP-Laban, Camiguin); Victor “DV” Savellano (NPC, Ilocos Sur); Amihilda Sangcopan (Anak Mindanao); Ma. Lourdes Aggabao (NPC, Isabela) and Cesar V. Sarmiento (PDP-Laban, Catanduanes).

Romualdez said the bill creates the DDR that will be the primary agency “accountable, liable and responsible” in overseeing and coordinating the disaster and climate change resilience programs and activities of the government.

Under the department will be the National Disaster Resilience Council and Multi-Stakeholders Convergence Units, among other agencies.

Romualdez said the bill seeks to enable government to swiftly respond, prepare, implement and evaluate disaster and climate resilience programs.

“It is high time that we create a Department of Disaster Resilience that will effectively reduce our vulnerability to natural hazards and bolster our resilience to the impact of national disasters and climate change,” said Romualdez.

She represents the congressional district that took the worst beating during supertyphoon “Yolanda’s” devastation.

On the other hand, Romero proposed the creation of the NDRC which will serve as the policy advisory body of the DDR on disaster risk and vulnerability reduction, emergency management and climate change adaptation.

According to Romero, the bill also creates the Climate and Disaster Research Education and Training Institute and the National and Regional Information Management System for Climate and Disaster Resilience.

“Let us work with the passage of this measure given the magnitude and painful effect to us of strong typhoons and other natural calamities,” appealed Batocabe in his sponsorship speech of the measure.

HB 8056 guarantees the facilitation of rapid importation of goods and equipment that are vital to address disaster prevention and mitigation concerns. Such importation will be exempted from all duties and taxes.

The bill penalizes public officials guilty of dereliction of duties that will lead to destruction, loss of lives and critical damage of facilities and misuse of funds.