BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and WENDELL VIGILIA
PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday visited Abra, which was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake on Wednesday, to see what additional help national government could give affected families.
Marcos on Wednesday promised the quake-hit areas they will receive prompt assistance from the national government.
Marcos flew to Bangued town with Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr., Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr, Defense Secretary Jose Faustino, and Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, and met with regional and local government officials.
He reiterated his immediate concern is ensuring the supply of food and clean water in the affected areas, and the use of water purifiers to avoid spread of diseases such as cholera, diphtheria, and water-borne ailments; restoring electricity and communications; and clearing of the roads to access areas that may have been isolated by landslides and damaged roads and bridges.
Speaker Martin Romualdez joined the President, his first cousin, in Abra where the House leader vowed to support the allocation of funds in the national budget for the rehabilitation and restoration of public infrastructure in provinces affected by the quake.
It was Sen. Imee Marcos, the President’s sister, who floated the idea of allocating restoration funds and creating an agency under the Office of the President that would allow the prompt mobilization of funds and resources to calamity-stricken areas.
Romualdez said the House supports Imee’s proposal as they have been looking for “best practices” like that of the US’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) in Turkey which are “great models for best practices for these protocols.”
He said the House will also support Imee’s call for budgetary requirements for the restoration of heritage and cultural sites that were damaged by the quake.
Marcos said houses at the center of the earthquake should first be thoroughly checked for sturdiness residents are allowed to return to avoid exposing them to further danger. He reiterated possible strong aftershocks and landslides may still occur.
Khadaffy Tanggol, director of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Cordillera Administrative Region, said inspection of hospitals and school buildings and clearing of roads and bridges are ongoing.
Marcos gave the assurance that the national government would help rebuild Abra and other quake-stricken areas, saying it is the government’s responsibility to bring aid to the people especially those who have been left homeless.
DSWD-CAR director Arnel Garcia said as of 6 a.m. yesterday, 2,390 houses in Abra, Benguet and Kalinga have been damaged, but they expect the number to go up as they have yet to reach the outlying areas. He said only 28 of these houses were “totally damaged.”
Garcia also said the affected families are staying in evacuation centers or are with friends or relatives.
An initial 1,000 modular tents have been set up in the evacuation centers and an additional 1,000 tents are expected to arrive.
Faustino said based on the monitoring of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), 4,969 families or around 20,000 persons from 110 barangays in Region I (Ilocos) and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are affected. The number, 2,312 are in 31 evacuation centers while 413 families or 1,637 persons are staying with friends or relatives.
DDR
Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte said the earthquake has underscored the need for the immediate passage of the measure seeking to establish a Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) “which will coordinate and better manage the country’s disaster preparedness, response and rehabilitation efforts.”
Duterte, along with Benguet Rep. Eric Yap, Quezon City Rep. Ralph Tulfo and ACT-CIS partylist Reps. Edvic Yap, Jocelyn Tulfo and Jeffrey Soriano have filed House Bill No. 452 creating the DDR, the same measure that Duterte in the previous 18th Congress.
The measure seeks to create an “empowered, highly specialized, science and ICT (information and communications technology)-based and fast and responsive Department of Disaster Resilience, with the clear unity of command which shall be primarily responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities.”
Sen. Grace Poe said the proposed DDR will also efficiently plan and collaborate with concerned agencies and local government units on disaster mitigation and management.
A DDR bill was filed by Senators Joseph Victor Ejercito, Juan Edgardo Angara, Vicente Sotto III and Poe during the 17th Congress, and refiled in the 18th Congress. It was also refiled by Sen. Christopher Go in July 2019, and again filed by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri last July 7. It is still pending at the committee level. — With Raymond Africa
