Martin Romualdez seeks creation of Dept. of Disaster Preparedness
The story of the recovery and rebuilding in the aftermath of super-typhoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in November 2013 showcases the resiliency and sheer determination of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds. However, as with any good story worth telling, the path to recovery was not without its challenges: red tape, inaction, negligence, missing and rotting relief goods, and worst of all, finger-pointing and fault-finding,.
Two years after Yolanda struck his district, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez witnessed firsthand the struggle to rebuild back from the devastation. In addition to his own efforts, he continues to appeal for aid in the reconstruction of not just his home province of Leyte, but all other Yolanda-stricken areas as well. Today, many remain housed in temporary sites, displaced people still without Livehood or jobs, and many students are still suffering in cramped and damaged school buildings.
Martin Romualdez commiserates with victims of Typhoon Lando in Bulacan.
In light of the reality that disasters are inevitable in our country, Romualdez has chosen to rise above the bickering and move forward in a positive way, by adapting and institutionalizing lessons learned. The lawmaker vows to exhaust all efforts to ensure no one ever has to go through another tragedy such as that brought by Yolanda . “Disaster preparedness and effective emergency response protocols should be a national priority,” says the senatoriable. House Bill No. 3486, which seeks to create a Department of Preparedness and Emergency Management, was filed by Romualdez a month after Yolanda struck Central Philippines. “There’s a need for a separate government agency which has its own budget and technical expertise to handle disaster response, with a full-time secretariat and staff whose duty is to help victims of disaster and calamities,” said the lawmaker.
Romualdez proposes that the separate department be modeled after the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA, one that operates 24/7, dedicated to monitoring weather disturbances and other calamities, and capable of coordinating and implementing rescue and relief operations. This department will be mainly for disaster preparedness, calamity response, emergency management, and rehabilitation concerns. Clear-cut delineation of the roles of all stakeholders, as well streamlined protocols with transparency and accountability measures in place, should be incorporated in the IRR to ensure confidence in our systems and protocols for effeciency and reliability.
Climate change is a worldwide phenomenon. With global warming threatening to raise sea levels in the coming years and Yolanda-like typhoons becoming the “new normal” in terms of magnitude, an agency focused on disaster preparedness – one that may minimize human casualties and collateral damage brought about by natural calaminities – is a must. “Due to climate change, lumalakas at tumitindi and mga bagyo. It is not a matter of of but when the next one will strike. And with experts warning of The Big One [quake] to rock Metro Manila, we should be better prepared,” cautioned Romualdez.
The three-term Leyte solon is also aggressively pushing for disaster preparedness to be included in school curricula. “In a country threatened on a regular basis by natural calamities like typhoons and earthquakes, we need a populace that knows what to do when disaster strikes,” he said. “The painful lessons of Yolanda should prompt us to take steps to ensure that our people are equipped with knowledge that can help them be better prepared for disasters of this magnitude.” Education is the necessary first step; a dedicated Department of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management is the next.
