Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Thursday renewed his push for the approval by Congress of his bill seeking to create the Department of Disaster Resilience and another bill mandating the establishment of mandatory evacuation centers nationwide.
(Office of Senator Bong Go / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, stressed that there is a need for a change in mindset and approach when dealing with natural disasters and calamities given that these situations are regular occurrences in the country and the hardships caused to the people are heightened in times of crises such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Go explained that it is high time that “we fully recognize that our country is highly vulnerable to ominous disasters given the frequency of natural calamities, like typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, that hit and affect us every year.’’
“Just this year, we have witnessed how pandemics and calamities pose an existential threat to the country. Therefore, fostering a culture of proactivity and resiliency is necessary to ensure the preparedness and safety of Filipinos during these times of crises,’’ he said.
Go also underscored the importance of promoting awareness, information dissemination, and educating the public in a community's disaster preparedness effort, especially as the country observes the National Disaster Resilience Month.
Executive Order 29 signed by President Duterte in June 2017 mandates the observance of National Disaster Resilience Month nationwide every July. Activities related to promoting disaster resilience covering prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and rehabilitation, and recovery are usually conducted during this month-long commemoration.
"We should acknowledge the fact that government as a whole can do more to educate and inform the public when it comes to disaster preparedness. Lalo na po sa mga LGUs (local government units) na pinaka-apektado ng pandemya, malapit sa bulkan o palaging tinatamaan ng bagyo o lindol (Particularly the LGUs that are affected by the pandemic, near to volcanoes and constantly affected by storms or earthquakes)," Go said.
"This is also one of the reasons why I am pushing for the creation of DDR. Parte ng magiging mandate nito ay ang pag-improve lalo ng (Part of the mandate is the improvement of information) information dissemination and in educating the Filipinos better on how to prepare for and respond to such crises," he added.