SENATORIAL candidate Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has called on government agencies to make the Philippines more resilient to economic shocks and natural disasters.
The three-term Leyte lawmaker issued the call following the release of a report by a think tank, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, showing that the Aquino administration has failed to come up with the appropriate policies and adequate funds to prepare the country to counter the adverse impacts of interconnected risks and adverse shocks.
“I concur with the view that we should accelerate efforts to enhance our ability to cope with both natural disasters and economic crisis,” Romualdez said.
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“We owe it to our people, particularly those living in poverty, that they are shielded from the negative impact of disasters, whether natural or man-made,” he added.
The 2014 World Risk Report cited by the government study said the Philippines is ranked third worldwide in terms of its vulnerability to economic shocks and natural hazards.
The report also said the Philippines is ranked second globally in terms of risks, such as exposure to climate change and global warming, a fact made evident by the onslaught of Super Typhoon “Yolanda” that ravaged Eastern Visayas particularly Tacloban in Leyte where tens of thousands of people perished and billions in pesos of property damaged.
Romualdez pointed out that he has already filed a bill seeking to create a separate department for disaster preparedness and emergency response to streamline government efforts in coping with natural disasters.
The senatorial bet, who is the leader of the Independent Minority Bloc in Congress, has also filed another bill seeking to institutionalize and expand the coverage of the Conditional-Cash Transfer, known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). The CCT, which began in 2008, provides a monthly allowance to poor families in exchange for sending their children to school, visiting health centers and attending family-development sessions.
Since the program’s inception, the number of CCT partner-beneficiaries has increased from 340,000 to more than 4.4 million at the end of last year. Romualdez is running for a seat in the Senate on a platform of compassionate governance anchored on job creation, health, education and disaster resilience.
