By Hannah Torregoza  Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday renewed his push for lawmakers to consider amending the country’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 by empowering all local government units (LGUs) and strengthening their existing disaster risk reduction and management capabilities. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) Gatchalian, a former Valenzuela City mayor, said doing so will increase the capability and capacity of communities to maintain basic functions during disasters. For one, the senator said, Congress should resolve the glaring inequity on the allocation of calamity funds to LGUs. For instance, he said Makati City, one of the richest cities in the country, can have as much as P700 million-calamity fund annually, while Batangas, where an active volcano is located, has a lesser amount for its calamity fund. He said LGUs should be allowed to utilize funds supposedly allocated and used in creating a new agency to strengthen their disaster preparedness and response initiatives. “The Framework laid down in the NDRRMC law is working but needs to be enhanced by studying how we can reallocate and provide funds for disaster preparedness, risk reduction, response and recovery to help cities and municipalities that are within geohazard areas,” Gatchalian said. “I believe LGUs should all be treated equally. The only way to empower the LGUs is to give them more funds. We cannot push our LGUs too much if they do not have funds. This is where the national government should come in and make it equitable,” he added. He also noted that the current law does not include the designation of an officer-in-charge of disaster risk management, making it difficult for LGUs to institutionalize and implement Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) plans even with a change in administration. He also said the creation of permanent positions in the local disaster risk reduction and management office will transfer the functions and responsibilities from the governor or mayor to the officer-in-charge. “There’s no person in charge and we can assume that the mayor or the governor is the one in-charge, but they are busy on some other concerns on a day-to-day basis,” Gatchalian said. The lawmaker earlier filed Senate Bill No. 746 or An Act Expanding the Application of The Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund by Amending the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. The bill primarily seeks the use of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRRMF) in funding infrastructure projects designed to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. The measure will also allow the LGUs to use the LDRRMF to pay for obligations incurred in funding projects related to disaster preparedness and mitigation, including the hiring of necessary personnel, according to Gatchalian. READ MORE: Gatchalian urges Senate review of disaster risk law