Proposed department for disaster response pushed

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Saying Typhoon “Odette” exposed “weaknesses” in disaster mitigation, a House official is hopeful the Senate will pass a bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) by mid-2022.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda made the call for the passage of the DDR bill before the 18th Congress adjourns in June next year.

“Odette bared the weaknesses of every local planning and mitigation. You really need a national agency permanently manning disaster response,” Salceda said in a statement on Saturday.

“I hope Congress, particularly the Senate, where the measure is still pending, can affirm the need to save lives and livelihoods from being particularly vulnerable to disasters,” he said.

In September 2020, the House passed on final reading House Bill No. 5989 creating the DDR. It has been transmitted to the Senate where seven similar measures were filed in 2019. The bills are still pending. —Julie M. Aurelio