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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Romualdez wants to assess PH's readiness for 'The Big One'

Romualdez wants to assess PH's readiness for 'The Big One'

Published Feb 15, 2023 05:52 pm

If an earthquake like the one that hit Turkiye and Syria suffered last week should strike the Philippines, is the government prepared to respond?

This is the question that House Speaker Martin Romualdez intends to answer as he plans to summon all disaster agencies and first responder units to find out if the government has an operational plan or “Oplan” in case “The Big One” hits the country.

House Speaker Martin Romualdez (Speaker’s office)

According to experts, thousands will be victims of the an earthquake akin to what happened in Turkiye and Syria, if the country is not prepared.

“We want to find out if we are really ready at ano ang dapat gawin ng publiko (and what the public needs to do),” he said, reminding that the same level of catastrophe already happened during Typhoon “Yolanda” where the first responders also became the victims.

“Sino ang papalit sa kanila (Who’s going to replace them), do we have enough equipment to dig through rubble o may sapat ba na food packs ang gobyerno sa libu-libong maaapektuhan ng lindol na ito (or does the government have enough food packs for the thousands who would be affected by this earthquake)," the lawmaker said.

On Monday, Feb. 13, Turkish Ambassador to Manila Niyazi Aykol went to Congress to accept Romualdez's personal donation of $100,000 for the victims of the earthquake in Turkiye.

The envoy told Romualdez that they had known for 20 years that a strong earthquake would hit but they never thought it would be this strong.

This is why the lawmaker was pushed to make an assessment of how strong an earthquake or intensity the National Capital Region (NCR) can handle, and how many are the projected casualties.

“Do we have enough equipment and manpower? Kasi (Because) very critical ang (the) first 24 hours. Kasi (Because) if we don't have then let's prepare and anticipate,” he said.

"We really have to be ready from rescue to medical attention and food distribution," Romualdez added.

Aside from the ability of the government to respond to the disaster, the lawmaker also underscored the importance of assessing the country’s buildings and infrastructures.

Turkiye and Syria were rocked by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on Monday, Feb. 6, leaving thousands of people stuck in the debris of collapsed buildings.

Two Filipinos died in the catastrophe, while the current death toll in Turkiye and Syria is over 40,000.

Related Tags

Turkey Martin Romualdez Earthquake House Speaker Niyazi Evren Akyol the big one
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