Senator Robinhood "Robin" Padilla said Wednesday, July 27 that the strong earthquake that struck Abra was a wake-up call to strengthen the government's disaster resilience and response mechanism especially at the local level.

Padilla also said the Medical Reserve Corps and mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) mentioned by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday would be a big help in this regard.

"Siguro ang palakasin muna natin kasi meron tayong mga regional disaster (response), na nandiyan na sila (What we should strengthen first is our regional disaster response). Palakasin natin sila, bigyan ng pondo. Ang gusto ko lang imungkahi palagi, bigyan natin ng kalayaan ang regional na magdesisyon sa sarili nila. Kasi ang pagresponde depende kung sinong teritoryo kung sino taga doon mas alam nila (Beef up funding if needed. Give them the autonomy to make decisions because they are the ones most familiar with their areas of responsibility)," said Padilla, who was in his office when the quake hit.

He said that although he trusts that the Senate building would withstand the quake, he followed the advice of Senate officials to evacuate it.

In a related development, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building in Pasay City, which houses the Senate of the Philippines, has been declared safe for work after Wednesday morning's magnitude 7.3 earthquake in Luzon.

Engineer Divine Apolinar, head of the maintenance department of the GSIS building, said they found hairline cracks that were "very minimal" during their inspections. She said these are not a cause for concern and that the building was safe.

Apolinar said they would also be plastering the walls to "rectify" the hairline cracks.

According to Apolinar, the building, located inside Pasay City's Financial Center, can withstand an Intensity IX earthquake after it was retrofitted in 2012.

"Kailangan po natin magdagdag (ang pagiging handa). May magandang panukala ang ating mahal na Pangulong Marcos na magkaroon ng medical (reserve) corps (We must be more prepared. President Marcos' call for a medical reserve corps and mandated ROTC will be needed).Bukod po yun sa pagmandato sa ROTC kailangan natin gawin yan at ganoon din dati noong 18th Congress, alam ko na-filed ito ni Senator Bong Go, na mahandaan sa ganitong mga disaster. Siyempre sa climate change di natin maiwasan ito lalo na ang Pilipinas, lagi tayong tinatamaa (Also during the 18th Congress, Senator Bong Go filed a bill stressing the need for disaster resilience. We need such measures especially now that we are feeling the effects of climate change)," he added.

Padilla said he was in his office on the fifth floor of the Senate building and was preparing for a briefing by his legal team when he felt the quake.

"Nakita ko ang tuwalya gumaganun sabi ko lumilindol. Sinabi ko sa kasama ko lumilindol ha, walang magpa-panic (I saw the towel swaying and I thought there is a quake. I told my staff that there is a quake, but told them not to panic)," he added.

Padilla also said he prayed for everyone's safety and called his family to make sure they are safe as well.