Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte is calling for the inclusion in the priority list of bills a measure establishing disaster-resilient evacuation centers nationwide for the benefit of underprivileged families who suffer the most during typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

“We are hoping for the addition to this CLA list of this measure that similarly cries out for immediate attention: the bill on the establishment of permanent evacuation centers across the country,” Villafuerte said in a statement Wednesday, Nov. 30.

CLA stands for common legislative agenda (CLA) between the House of Representatives and Senate. There are 30 bills in the CLA, which was made public during the first Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting that President Marcos convened with the lawmakers last Oct. 10 at Malacañang.

Villafuerte expressed hope that his fellow legislators would consider the urgency of putting up evacuation centers in every municipality across the country, even as the House Subcommittee on Disaster Preparedness has already begun to consolidate 26 bills all proposing to establish government shelters for people who are forced to leave their homes whenever there are natural calamities or disasters.

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), introduced one of these measures inHouse Bill (HB) No.1091 along with his three provincemates, Camarines Sur 5th district Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte, Camarines Sur 1st district Rep. Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Nicolas Enciso VIII.

The subcommittee plans to consolidate HB No.1091 and the other bills into HB 16, which was authored by House Speaker Martin Romualdez with Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and June Acidre.

Villafuerte noted that earlier, Marcos himself, during a situation briefing after inspecting areas hit by typhoon “Karding” last September, instructed Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Erwin Tulfo to conduct a study on Tulfo’s proposal on building permanent evacuation centers in every municipality across the country.

"The world’s failure to reverse climate change is expected to spell stronger and deadlier typhoons and other natural hazards in the years ahead, hence exacerbating for both the national and local government units (LGUs) this recurring challenge of providing interim shelter to hundreds of thousands or even millions of families forced to leave their homes during cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other calamities,” the Bicolano noted.

“And with the return of in-person academic classes all over the country as part of the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ scenario, there is more pressure on the national government and LGUs to immediately house disaster-affected evacuees in shelters other than public schools, so as not to disrupt the back-to-normal teaching mode for our teachers and students,” he added.

Villafuerte expressed the hope that the House leadership would add the proposed establishment of permanent evacuation centers nationwide to the 16 to 18 bills that were earlier identified by Romualdez as for approval before the yearend. These bills are part of the CLA.