Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso vowed to build more disaster-resilient evacuation centers to accommodate displaced individuals in times of calamity if he wins the presidency in next year elections.
Moreno stressed the need for long-term planning when it comes to preparing for natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes so that the people affected by such calamities will immediately receive government help.
“The typhoon is already part of our lives because of our country’s location in the world. The earthquake will also be a part of our lives because we are sitting along the line, the so-called “Pacific rim of fire.” We also have many volcanoes. So, it’s better that we have a plan to build infrastructures intended for evacuation,” Moreno said, in an interview over radio RMN-DXBC Butuan.
Moreno made the statement when asked what he intends to do to mitigate the effects of natural calamities to the country and its people following the devastation brought by Typhoon Odette in many provinces located in the Visayas and Mindanao two weeks ago.
“These disaster-resilient evacuation centers may not look useful during normal times, but when there is a disaster like a typhoon, our compatriots don’t look like wetted chicks. Since their houses have been destroyed, they have nowhere to go. They may go somewhere else, but they looked like stack” Moreno said referring to evacuation centers destroyed by Typhoon Odette.
According to the latest reports from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, the reported number of deaths has reached 397 with 1,147 injured and 83 missing. The NDRRMC said of the total number of reported deaths, 334 are still undergoing validation while for the injuries and missing 1,073 and 71 cases respectively are still being validated by disaster officials.
Meanwhile, the number of families affected by the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year has already reached 1,082,910 or 4,235,400 individuals. Damage to agriculture is pegged at P5,342,538,557.25 while damage to infrastructure has already reached P16, 715,334,982.11.
With Manila experiencing many fires particularly in informal settler communities, Moreno said he ordered the construction of buildings that serve as temporary resettlement sites for families affected by the blaze.
“In (Manila), since we often get fires because our squatter areas are crowded. So what we did, we built temporary human habitation buildings. There is a bathroom, there is a kitchen, there is a bedroom. They are fine,” Moreno said.
“Plus, I think it’s high time, like when we did housing, in-city vertical housing — stone houses. Because you need rocks because what I’m telling you, the storm it’s always there. How many storms do we have in a year? Twenty-eight to eighty? How strong and where does it always hit? Because it doesn’t always change where you hit hard,” Moreno explained.
In the same radio interview, the 47-year-old presidential bet said that if he becomes the next president of the country, he will prioritize the acquisition of the latest tools and equipment to better prepare ourselves in times of natural calamities.
“There are historical facts. So, with those data, I think maybe by this time, at this age and with technology and available tools and equipment, it should be acquired by the government. It has to have a long-term plan. The government can invest, even if it is not used every day but it is worth the government’s cost because people will feel that in the time of their depression, they have a government to lean on that will respond immediately,” Moreno pointed out.
Moreno said prioritizing risk reduction will come a long way in also saving more lives during natural calamities.
“So now if there is a breakdown, electricity, water, and at least ‘the problem of tragedy,’ the shelter, they already have it. ‘You don’t just follow food, water and anything else. So, reduce your problem immediately. The government should be responsive, prompt . . . forward-thinking. I don’t think we can avoid the flood, we can’t avoid the bad weather, but we can alleviate the feelings, grievances, needs of the person,” he said.
The local chief executive said a proactive government can do many things especially for the betterment of the people that it intends to serve.
“It’s really important, you have to act fast. Modesty aside, the Manila government is not perfect, but when we became mayor, we all accelerated the action. All fast. All factors or all those that need to be addressed, need to act quickly because time is of the essence. We always value time,’ Moreno pointed out.