Sen. Grace Poe called on Congress anew Monday to pass a bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience and Emergency Assistance and Management that some senators have earlier proposed.

‘’We need a dedicated agency that will focus on disaster resilience and management. Every calamity coming our way reminds us of the missed opportunity to be better prepared and give a more adequate response to the people and local governments. Let’s make this a priority,’’ Poe said.

Poe made the call after super typhoon “Rolly’’ pummeled Southern Luzon and left a large swath of destruction.

‘’We need to avert a double tragedy befalling the evacuees by ensuring that after surviving the typhoon, they will not get sick in temporary shelters especially as we are still battling the coronavirus disease,’’ she said.

Poe noted that families in evacuation centers urgently need food, water and medicine, including face masks and face shields.

‘’With their homes and crops ravaged by the typhoon, they only have the government and the kind help of the public to rely on to get through this devastation,’’ she added.