Solons renew call for passage of Department of Disaster Resilience bill amid Taal eruption

Lawmakers from the House of Representatives have renewed their call for the immediate passage of the bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) amid the eruption of Taal Volcano.

In a statement issued late Sunday night, Ako Bicol party-list Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr. urged his colleagues to fast-track the deliberations on the DDR bill.

"Several disasters have befallen our country in the past weeks and months, but the Department of Disaster Resilience bill has hardly moved," he said.

"We need that bill now. Certification as urgent may be necessary. We need the bill we would ask President Duterte to certify as urgent."

As proposed in the House of Representatives, the DDR will be the primary government agency “responsible, accountable, and liable for leading, managing, and organizing national efforts to prevent and reduce disaster risks, prepare for and respond to disasters, and recover, rehabilitate, and build forward better after the destruction.”

The department will be headed by a secretary supported by undersecretaries, assistant secretaries and directors. It will have an initial budget of P10 billion.

Garbin believes that the close proximity of the Taal Volcano will serve as a needed push for the bill to move fast in the House.

"I hope the Senators feel the same way about the urgency of the DDR bill. Congressional action on the DDR bill is imperative now, not later," he said.

For his part, Deputy Speaker Michael Romero said a special session may even be needed to immediately pass the DDR bill and a supplemental budget for disaster risk reduction and relief efforts following the Taal Volcano eruption.

"I believe the Taal Volcano eruption is enough reason for Congress to convene in special session this week to tackle the disaster resilience bills and perhaps authorize additional funding for disaster response measures," he said.

"This Taal Volcano eruption is just the first of many disasters this year. P16 billion [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund] may not be enough until December. Many of the people affected in the Mindanao earthquakes and by the typhoons that struck Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Mindoro, and Western Visayas have yet to rebuild their homes," he added. —Erwin Colcol/KBK, GMA News