Senate calls for contingency framework amid Middle East crisis

The Senate has adopted a resolution urging the executive branch to develop and submit a comprehensive national contingency plan in 15 days amid the heightened tensions in the Middle East. 

On Wednesday, the upper chamber adopted the Senate resolution introduced by 23 senators and co-sponsored by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III with no objections. 

The Senate specifically called on the executive branch to establish a national contingency framework.

It urged the executive branch to develop and submit within 15 days a comprehensive plan to prepare, respond, and recover from major domestic and international crises through a whole-of-nation approach.

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, who sponsored the measure in the plenary, underscored the need for consensus and alignment across the government and the private sector as the country braces for the impact of the conflict in the Middle East. 

Earlier this week, prices of fuel rose by double-digit figures as tensions in the Gulf region caused petroleum prices to spike across the globe.

The feared surge in energy costs has prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order the implementation of a four-day work week in the executive branch and for government offices to cut costs on energy and electricity.

Cayetano said the country must first build agreement across institutions before it can respond effectively to large-scale emergencies.

“‘Pag sobrang bigat ng problema, apektado ‘yung region at buong mundo dahil we are now a global village and we now see na intricate na masyado ang koneksyon ng mga ekonomiya,” Cayetano said.

(If the problem becomes worse, the region and the entire world will be affected because we are now a global village and we now see that the connections between economies are very intricate.)

The national contingency framework, as stated in the resolution, aims to strengthen the country’s ability to anticipate threats, minimize delays in decision-making, protect Filipinos at home and abroad, and enhance national resilience. 

The Senate minority leader said the resolution also seeks to fortify cooperation among the national government, local government units (LGUs), and the private sector during emergencies.

“That is the spirit of this resolution, to call on the Executive dahil sila ang tinalaga ng ating Konstitusyon to build a consensus with the private sector [and] with the local governments. To be fair, they are doing that. Nag-announce agad sila ng mga measures,” Cayetano said.

(That is the spirit of this resolution: to call on the Executive because the Constitution tasks them with building consensus with the private sector and local governments. To be fair, they are doing that. They immediately announced measures to do so.) — JMA, GMA Integrated News