President Duterte has expressed his frustration over what he described as the "stupid laws" that prevent the national government from promptly responding to disasters, like the one caused by typhoon "Odette" the week before Christmas.
In his pre-recorded "Talk to the People" public briefing that aired late Monday night, Dec. 27, Duterte once again rued the delay in his declaration of a state of calamity over the typhoon-ravaged areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.
"Ang problema (The problem is) there is a law covering the power to declare a state of calamity insofar as the --- my office is concerned because it must be based on the assessment and evaluation and the report of the government on the ground," said the President, who has spent the past few days making rounds in the provinces flattened by Odette.
Duterte said such assessment and evaluation duties fall on the shoulders of Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator Ricardo Jalad. But he noted that Jalad was too busy conducting rescue operations to accomplish the legal requirement.
"And I cannot rely on Undersecretary Jalad kasi kasagsagan lang ‘yan ng ano (because it was the peak of the)... And to base an evaluation or assessment of a damage could not be had immediately. That is really silly and that puts a cap on my power, I said, to declare a state of calamity," he said.
"Kaya we had to call DBM na kung ganoon patay na lahat ng tao because si (That's why we had to call the Department of Budget and Management and tell them that everybody would have died already since) Undersecretary Jalad is busy rescuing and retrieving patay na tao (people who are dead). Sino namang ugok na magawa ‘yan niya (Who would be the fool that would do that) immediately so that there should be a declaration? That law should be changed," the Chief Executive stressed.
Although Duterte didn't mention it, he was likely referring to Republic Act (RA) No. 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, which gives definition to a “state of calamity” and its effects.
"That is (sic) really so many provisions in the law that would hinder government to just act immediately because I said there has to be after --- before the declaration, there has to be an evaluation and the assessment of damage before you can declare a state of calamity.
"These are the things, I said, are the stupid laws passed by --- passed by Congress. Sila man ang final word diyan sa (They have the final word on) whether it should be or it should be not. Ang --- kasi the critical and everybody knows, it’s the three days. Maghintay pa ako ng report (I have to wait for the report)," Duterte, a lawyer, explained.
Odette--the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year--first made landfall on Siargao on Dec. 16.
The President declared a state of calamity over six affected regions on Dec. 21, during the airing of the previous Talk to the People episode. At that time, there was still no official report from the OCD.
"And it behooves upon this Congress, if they want to, or the next president, may I advise: try to repeal the law so that government --- there is already the warning, hindi na kailangan ng assessment (an assessment is no longer necessary) because the warning far --- just too far away for us to prepare. And noong nandiyan na (And when the typhoon came), with so much preparation, ganoon... Hindi mo mapigilan ‘yang hangin pati tubig eh (You cannot stop the wind and the flood)," Duterte said.
"So tinawagan ko ang DBM sinabi ko (So I called the DBM and said), 'I’m going ahead with the operation of government,'" he further shared.
Hammering his point home, the 76-year-old leader said that "An emergency is an emergency and it is not dependent na --- because the extent of the damage would really be... It (OCD report) could not even be done in one month."
"I don’t know kung nakinig ‘yung mga congressman ngayon pati senador (if the congressmen and senators will listen). They would leave a good law that can be applied immediately right after or during the destruction and while there is still the wind and the tubig (and the flood)," said Duterte, who once upon a time was a Davao congressman.
The following measures are imposed whenever a state of calamity is declared by the Philippine national government: appropriation for calamity funds, price freeze for basic necessities, and granting of no-interest loans.