The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday said it would tap other government agencies and stakeholders in crafting a tool to assess buildings’ vulnerability to earthquakes that would be rolled out in local government units (LGUs).
Speaking at the post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in Pasay City, DILG Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said they are seeking the support of the departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Health (DOH) Education (DepEd), as well as the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers and the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines for the project.
“We also want to tap CHED (Commission on Higher Education). We want to enlist the assistance and support universities and colleges offering civil engineering courses. The students will help us to assess the status of the building if these are vulnerable to earthquakes. We hope it will be able to come up with a tool by the end of the year to roll out this in local governments in the country,” he said.
The move complies with the Office of the Civil Defense’s (OCD) call for more engineering interventions to prevent huge death tolls in case of a massive earthquake in the country.
Iringan said the government has made significant strides in disaster preparedness through the “Operation Listo” (Alert), which covers protocols to address risks and hazards, particularly tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and localized weather disturbances.
The”’Operation Listo” is an advocacy program of the DILG that aims to strengthen the disaster preparedness of LGUs using the whole-of-government approach which institutionalized local protocols for disaster preparedness, response, and monitoring.
“They are generally good at this point, under the leadership of Secretary Benhur Abalos, the DILG is also coordinating with LGUs for interventions. This is for LGUs to heighten their preparedness,” Iringan said.
He also cited the need to assess the structural integrity and the capacity of vital facilities such as evacuation centers.
War on waste
Iringan said 40,000 tons of waste were collected from the villages during the nationwide “Kalinga at Inisyatiba para sa Malinis na Bayan” (KALINISAN) program from January to date.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. touted the program’s accomplishments in Monday’s SONA.
Iringan said the clean-up drive is a longstanding commitment of the national government to apply “bayanihan” (cooperation) and ensure cleaner and greener communities.
“We can just imagine, we have 42,000 barangays and there are only 20 barangay officials per barangay. That’s only 800,000 hands. But if we are able to mobilize 115 million Filipinos twice, that’s 230 million hands helping one another in ensuring cleanliness, not only cleanliness but also well-being of our communities,” he said.
He said the DILG also plans to strengthen the program by providing incentives to the most deserving barangays, as well as raising awareness on Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
