Presidential aspirant Senator Manny Pacquiao has called for a 50-year master plan on disaster resiliency for the country.
He said the country’s lack of a disaster resiliency master plan has turned government actions into a hodgepodge of reactionary responses with no real long-term strategy on how to minimize the loss of lives and reduce damage to infrastructure.
Pacquaio said that while no amount of preparation can stop powerful typhoons like Odette, or powerful earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the government should be able to quickly restore power and telecommunications.
It should also have a faster and more efficient delivery system of essential aid such as food and water.
If elected president, Pacquaio said he will immediately ask Congress to pass a law creating a 50-year infrastructure masterplan which must be funded and implemented by every administration.
This infrastructure master plan should not just focus on the construction of roads, bridges, railways, subways, airports, and seaports but should also focus on improving our country’s disaster preparedness and resiliency.
This could include the construction of disaster-resilient housing for those who still live in danger zones.
Pacquaio is also calling for the construction of earthquake and typhoon-proof multipurpose domes in disaster-prone areas so that they can be used as evacuation sites during calamities. These facilities should have their own source of water and be readily equipped with heavy-duty warehouses to stock food, medicines reusable blankets, and other essentials.
He said that these multipurpose centers should be dome-shaped because they can better withstand strong winds and should be able to accommodate at least 20,000 at a time without any problem.
Pacquiao said the development of effective flood control systems, underground cabling for power and telecommunications, satellite programs not only for communications but also for weather and ecology research, and the construction of deployable power barges, which can be used to restore power, can be also included in the 50-year infrastructure masterplan.
“ We will employ the best architects, engineers, and scientists to create this master plan. We will ask Congress to pass a law that would compel all administrations to fund and implement as scheduled all projects that were laid down on this masterplan.
He admitted that while it makes takes several administrations before the master plan is fully implemented at least future generations already have something to look forward to in their future.
