The Senate Committee on National Defense and Security has endorsed the passage of the bill mandating the construction of permanent disaster-resilient evacuation centers in all cities and municipalities in the country. 

Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, chairman of the defense panel, formally sponsored Senate Bill No. 2451 or the proposed “Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act” under Committee Report No. 139, on Tuesday, November 7. 

The bill primarily seeks to enhance the country’s existing disaster resilience mechanism, strengthen disaster preparedness and response through the creation of typhoon-resilient and earthquake-proof evacuation centers for all cities and municipalities in the Philippines. 

“It is imperative that we have these structures built and ready as we do not know when the so-called ‘Big One’ will happen or when another ‘Yolanda’ will cross over our islands,” Estrada said during his sponsorship speech. 

The senator said an assessment made in 2014 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF, a year after super typhoon Yolanda, showed that only eight (8) percent or 53 out of the 634 designated evacuation centers in Eastern Samar were deemed usable, while 166 were destroyed and 415 severely damaged.
 

“The catastrophic damage to these evacuation centers caused numerous deaths and injuries due to substandard construction, extreme winds, and surges. Ayaw po nating maulit ito (We don’t want this to happen again),” he said.

The bill sets minimum standards for the creation of these centers, ensuring that these are located in safe and accessible areas and can withstand super typhoons with wind speeds of at least 300 kilometers per hour and seismic activity of at least 8.0 magnitude. 

The measure also dictates the inclusion of amenities such as sleeping quarters, shower and toilet facilities, kitchen and food preparation and dining areas, a health care station, women and child-friendly spaces, standby power for lighting, and operation of medical and communication equipment, among others, to guarantee humane and decent living conditions for evacuees.
 
 

It also prioritizes the establishment of Ligtas Pinoy Centers, taking into account the absence of such facility in a given local government unit (LGU), its susceptibility, exposure and vulnerability to hazards, and readiness for construction implementation.
 

“The prioritization criteria shall prevent duplication and waste of our limited resources,” he said.

“We need to establish a system where we can easily identify what LGU needs these facilities the most and which LGU should be prioritized in the construction of their evacuation centers,” the lawmaker said.