Senator Christopher “Bong” Go appealed to the government to ensure that safe and properly equipped evacuation centers are made available in communities nationwide, particularly in areas that are prone to natural disasters.
Go said these sites should be properly designed to avoid the transmission of diseases given the ongoing health crisis.
“Dapat masigurado natin na ang mga pasilidad na ito ay COVID-19-ready at disaster resilient. Aksyunan na natin ito. Huwag natin hintayin na mangyari ang ating kinakatakutan na sabay-sabay ang kalamidad at pagtaas ng COVID-19 cases. Dapat laging handa tayo,” he said. (We must ensure that these facilities are COVID-19 ready and disaster resilient. We should act on this now. We should not wait for the occurrence of calamities and the rise of COVID-19 cases. We should be on the alert.)
“Huwag nating pahirapan pa ang mga kababayan nating naghihirap na dulot ng mga krisis at sakuna. Magmalasakit tayo sa kanilang kalagayan at alagaan natin sila sa panahong walang-wala na sila upang makabangon sila muli,” he added. (We should not allow our countrymen to continue suffering from the effects of the crisis and calamities. We should show that we care about their fate and help them rise from the crisis.)
Go, who filed Senate Bill 1228, the “Mandatory Evacuation Center Act,” also urged authorities to set guidelines and health protocols that will minimize the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 in evacuation centers.
The bill aims to establish safe, permanent, and dedicated evacuation centers in every city, province, and municipality in the country. It must also be fully-equipped to provide immediate aid to calamity and disaster victims, including fire victims.
“With the typhoon season, it is expected that many communities that might be hit by typhoons will be needing evacuation centers, yet with the COVID-19 outbreak that continues to threaten the lives of Filipinos, we need to scale up our efforts to keep them safe from harm and from health hazards,” he said.
Every year, around 20 tropical cyclones visit the Philippines with at least five of them being destructive.
Stronger typhoons require either preemptive or mandatory evacuation of people, often ending up cramped in schools and gymnasiums.
The Philippines is also along the Pacific Ring of Fire, causing around 100 felt earthquakes every year. The recent series of strong and destructive earthquakes that primarily hit North Cotabato and Davao del Sur provinces late last year also resulted in massive displacement of people.
The senator from Davao also recommended that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and other relevant agencies must coordinate with local government units and their local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers, health offices, and the National Task Force on COVID-19 to craft evacuation plans that take into consideration the health hazards posed by the ongoing pandemic.
Go said that evacuation centers should also be equipped with the necessary medical and personal protective equipment, such as masks, which will be provided for free to evacuees to protect them in their temporary shelters.
Meanwhile, Go also pushed for measures to ensure that isolation facilities of local government units (LGUs) are both COVID-19-ready and disaster-resilient. He recently filed SB 1259, the “Mandatory Quarantine Facilities Act of 2020,” which mandates the establishment of quarantine facilities in every region in the country easily accessible to a Department of Health hospital and strategically located to ensure the safety of the community. This ensures quicker government response to pandemics such as COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.
The Senator also filed SB 205, the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) Act in July last year.
The bill seeks to create an empowered, highly specialized, and responsive DDR with clear unity of command and primarily responsible in ensuring safe, adaptive, and disaster-resilient communities.
“We should acknowledge the fact that the government as a whole can do more to prepare contingency measures for disasters. This includes educating the public when it comes to disaster preparedness, especially communities that are most affected by the pandemic, or near a volcano, or frequently hit by typhoons and earthquakes,” he added.
As the country continues to battle COVID-19, Go, who also sits as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, reiterated his appeal to the people to continue cooperating with the government by simply following the health protocols such as the wearing of face mask and shield, observing social distancing, frequent hand washing, and avoiding non-essential travels.