Creation of disaster management dep't pushed anew amid Habagat floods

Should Congress pass a law for its establishment, the proposed Department of Disaster Management (DDM) will aim to reduce the effect of disasters such as typhoons before they even come, a proponent said Thursday.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, Undersecretary Karen Jimeno of the Presidential Management Staff said preventing disasters is better in the long run than just knowing how to respond to them.

"We have to focus on the preparedness and risk reduction aspect, hindi 'yung reactive approach," she said.

Jimeno, the undersecretary for disaster resiliency, said the Philippines is the third most risk-prone country in the world, based on the 2017 WorldRiskReport.

"Ang Japan ho mataas rin yung exposure to hazards pero mababa po yung ranking nila sa disaster risk because they're resilient and hindi sila ganun ka-vulnerable," she said.

"Yung mga flood control projects nila, maayos, yung preparedness nila, risk reduction. yun po yung sinusubukan nating lakasan dito."

Establishing a DDM, she said, will allow the country to prepare for natural disasters and reduce damage from typhoons, floodings, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, and other phenomenon.

"Halimbawa po yung Mayon Volcano, alam naman nating laging pumuputok 'yan pero kung nagre-react lang tayo, ibig sabihin yung mga bahay na nasa hazard areas hindi natin ililipat, talagang magkaka-disaster dahil may maapektuhan na tao," Jimeno said.

"Pero kung may bulkan at wala namang nakatira around it, walang disaster na nangyayari. The natural hazard is there, pero walang disaster dahil walang mamamatay, walang mawawalan ng bahay, wala rin pong masasalanta."

Jimeno said DDM will be different from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as it will be composed of officials brought on board specifically for DDM.

"Council set-up [ang NDRRMC]. Ibig sabihin ang mga miyembro niya pati yung mga chairman at co-chairman niya, mga Cabinet secretary ng ibang departamento... marami pong ibang trabaho," Jimeno said.

"Kung titingnan natin, imagine, papatawag niyo sa meeting lahat yun, may kanya-kanyang trabaho, so reactive yung approach. Pag may disaster, saka lang sila uupo," she added.

President Rodrigo Duterte, on his third State of the Nation Address on July 23, called anew for the passage of a law that will establish DDM, an inter-agency group similar to the US Federal Emergency Management Agency of the Department of Homeland Security. —KBK, GMA News