ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DILG exhorts LGUs to rationalize local disaster programs

DILG exhorts LGUs to rationalize local disaster programs

Published Jul 3, 2020 03:06 pm

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday urged the local government units (LGUs) to integrate health safety protocols in their respective local disaster programs as the threat of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) still lingers.

DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)

DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan E. Malaya recognized the difficult task faced by the LGUs as this will be the first time that they are facing the problem of COVID-19 in the rainy season.

“But we have already cascaded some guidelines and advisories through the DILG Central Office Disaster Information Coordinating Center (CODIX) to better equip them in dealing with the situation,” said Malaya.

“These guidelines will be released to help our LGUs to effectively prepare and respond to natural disasters and COVID-19 at the same time,” he added.

CODIX Chief Edgar Allan B. Tabell explained that the “LGUs are not going into battle blind since as early as 2003, with the threat of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in 2015, LGUs had been guided to plan and respond to biological disasters’’.

Malaya reminded the LGUs to carry out actions in response to natural disasters as recommended in the Operation Listo manual, which is the advocacy program of the DILG.

The plan aims to strengthen the disaster preparedness of provinces, cities, towns, and villages by doing minimum actions in preparation for typhoons.

Malaya reiterated the need for the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management (LDRRM) Councils of LGUs to set up their respective pre-disaster risk assessment and initiate all the necessary logistical preparations with utmost consideration of the coronavirus health risks.

The DILG also noted that the LGUs are enjoined to convene and review their respective LDRRM plans and update their response accordingly in adherence to the minimum health standards and infection prevention protocols set by the Department of Health (DOH).

However, Malaya noted that many LGUs are already capable of handling natural disasters as the Operation Listo protocols of the DILG are being implemented well since it was launched.

He assured that the DILG is coordinating with various national agencies for clearer guidelines in ensuring that the actions taken by the LGUs in addressing both typhoons and COVID-19 will be following the minimum health protocols.

“We will have challenging days up ahead. Rest assured that the DILG remains committed to assisting our LGUs to navigate this unprecedented challenge,” Malaya said.

“Considering the situation, we still would like to commend the LGUs in keeping our communities safe amid this health pandemic,’’ he added.

Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) advised the public and all concerned agencies to take precautionary measures in preparation for the rainy season.

But the state weather bureau added that periods of rain will be followed by dry periods, called monsoon breaks, "that could last for several days to two weeks.

"This means that rain will not persist throughout the entire wet season.’’ PAGASA noted.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.