A LAWMAKER has renewed his call for Congress to create an independent disaster authority that will exclusively handle the task of risk reduction up front, and reconstruction and recovery at the back end.
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda said this body would redirect efforts and emerging “policy drifts” among agencies handling various aspects of the program.
His call relates to the current disasters brought about by the Marawi crisis entering its 50th day and the earthquake that hit communities in Leyte last week.
Salceda last year filed House Bill 1648, titled “An Act Further Strengthening the Philippines Disaster Reduction and Management System by Institutionalizing the Framework and Plan and Establishing the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA).”
The authority would be a high level institution and an independent body under the Office of the President, dedicated to pre-disaster risk reduction and post-disaster reconstruction, he said.
Speaking at a summit on disaster preparedness in Taguig City last Saturday, Salceda said the measure will be the country’s legal infrastructure in reducing the effects of catastrophic climate change, and will be “the world’s best approach to disaster risk reduction.”
The NDRRMA is envisioned to “radicalize the country’s disaster response and management system,” the solon said.
HB 1648 is a result of “action research, sharing of experiences and dynamic discussions among various stakeholders from national and local government agencies, organizations and communities.”
Salceda describes it as a “product of comparable international experiences. If we want this thing to really take off, we need this legislation,” he said.
‘Policy drifts’ and disagreements in the program of reducing the impacts of climate change “can lead to more serious consequences and expensive damages in terms of loss of lives and properties,” the solon added.
The measure also aims to amend RA 10121, the country’s DRR law enacted in 2010, and further strengthen calamity response by “institutionalizing the framework and plan, with NDRRMA.”
It had gained wide and popular support among community-based and globally known DRR advocates and practitioners following its filing last year.
Among the groups that have vowed support for the measure was the Disaster Risk Reduction Network Philippines (DRRNetPhils), a broad national coalition of civil society organizations (CSOs), people’s organizations, and practitioners and advocates of community-based disaster risk reduction and management.
The group consulted with Salceda at his office in Congress last September.
Conceptually, NDRRMA will be tasked to undertake, monitor and ensure realization of the objectives of disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) nationwide, and perform oversight functions as well.
It will be equipped with the necessary competency and resources “to engage new actors, particularly in the fields of risk transfer and insurance, and built-in structures to manage broader governance arrangements and oversee DRRM efforts towards sustainable development goals.”
Salceda spoke from experience at the Taguig summit as a multi-awarded local government executive who pioneered effective emergency response programs, most particularly his now household byword “Zero Casualty” Goal.
He was elected as co-chair of the United Nations Green Climate Fund Board in Paris, France in 2013, the first Asian and Filipino to lead the Fund’s 24-member Board.
His nine years as governor of Albay saw the transformation of Albay from a poverty stricken, calamity battered province to an economic and tourism hub in the Bicol Region.
Albay was the first province to win the Gawad KALASAG Hall of Fame honor, following its three successive awards as best in Disaster Risk Reduction.
