Duterte wants Congress to hasten creation of department on disaster response management

Malacañang on Wednesday said President Rodrigo Duterte wants Congress to hasten the passage of the measure creating a new department that will oversee efforts on disaster resilience and emergency management.

“He [Duterte] wants it passed soonest,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a text message.

Roque, however, did not say if Duterte will certify the bill as urgent. 

Several bills are pending before the Senate and House of Representatives seeking the creation of a department that will replace the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Duterte pitched its creation during his State of the Nation Address in 2017, which was backed by the Cabinet on Monday, according to Roque.

“I am calling both houses of the Congress to draft a law establishing an authority or department that is responsive to the prevailing 21st century conditions and empower to best deliver the enhanced disaster resiliency and quick disaster response,” Duterte said in his speech.

The President mentioned the disasters the country has faced, including Super Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013 that flattened villages and killed thousands of people in Visayas.

The Philippines ranked third on the World Risk Index in 2016 due to its vulnerability to disaster risk.

In particular, researchers said the Philippines has a "high" (80.92 percent) lack of coping capacities, which the report defines as "measures and abilities that are immediately available to reduce harm and damages in the occurrence of an event.”

The study ranked 171 countries according to how exposed and vulnerable they are to natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods and storms. —KG, GMA News