New disaster agency opposed

Key disaster managers on Wednesday expressed reservations about the proposed establishment of a separate department focused mainly on disaster resilience and mitigation.

Speaking at a Senate hearing, Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said agencies under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), such as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), are primarily mandated to conduct institutional researches to help improve agriculture, the shipping industry, airlines and other businesses, and should remain under the DOST “because they are actually science organizations.”

He said the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council should be “given a chance” to continue leading the government’s efforts to mitigate the impacts of man-made and natural disasters.Research, too

Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum explained that more than just issuing warnings, his agency “does a lot of research to improve warnings, (reduce) hazards and risk assessment.”

“What is needed are disaster risk managers and disaster managers,” Solidum said, adding that the government needed to train people “who would be leaders in disaster management, and the DOST agencies are not those.”