Gov’t Cites Improved Plans During Disasters

Bad experiences of some Filipinos during the weather crisis that hit the country last year which claimed thousands of lives and damaging millions of pesos worth of properties, has made the government to improve its plans in rendering assistance to the would be victims in case there would be another calamities to come.

This was the clarified on Thursday last week by Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chief Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. in response to some queries regarding this issue from Cebu media.

According to Tribunalo the experiences of the Filipinos on both disasters last year brought about by a 7.2 earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda, seemed as an eye opener to the Filipino legislators to craft a law that could utilize all the government’s resources aimed to lessen the disaster’s effect on lives as well as properties if possible, in case there would be such crisis again.

Tribunalo, who made a typhoon as an example, explained that in case the weather bureau would pinpoint a specific site where a super typhoon could make a landfall, all people in that area will be forced by the PDRRMC to leave and transfer to a safe evacuation center.

Then he said under Republic Act (RA)10121 the barangay officials will have to request to the office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development for their food assistance to the evacuees.

“So regardless of how slow or strong the typhoon is, the government through DSWD will pour its all-out support to the evacuees”, Tribunal said.

Tribunalo also said that this system is already adopted by DSWD,” so whatever resources they have, they would utilize all these just to comply the law and save the lives of all disaster-affected people in a certain locality”.

Last October 15, 2013,a strong earthquake struck Cebu and Bohol provinces damaging properties including the century old Catholic churches worth hundreds of millions of pesos and took hundreds of people’s lives.

Then the incident was followed by super typhoon Yolanda on November 8 of the same year which hit northern Samar, Tacloban City in Leyte and i n the northern part of Cebu province which took more or less 7,000 lives and damaging billions of pesos worth of industrial , agricultural products and properties as well as infrastructure facilities.

Tribunalo said that “if there was already a law before governing any happenings of calamities and disasters, murag di tingale kaayo daghang kinabuhing makalas, this is because with the present law, no matter how big is the amount to incur just to save lives, the government’s coffer is open to release any amount needed as cash aids”, he added.

Tribunalo’s statements was also collaborated by Senior Economic and Development Specialist Arnel Guantero of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) 7 who explained that base on the RA 10121, whatever amount incurred during any calamities, it must be included on next year’s budget.

The total amount incurred must be recorded by DSWD to be approved by the barangay chief executive, so that it could be easily processed by the Department of Budget (DBM) during its budget releases, Guantero said. He added that all barangay officials were already taught how to process the calamity funds in case they really need it for their constituents’ welfare.

Guantero stressed that during the seminars conducted by the PDRRMC in any locality, they have instructed all local government officials (LGUs) and government agencies involve in a team, to do their best to save their constituents’ lives during disasters.

“All government resources and facilities and even its financial aspects are always ready to be rendered as assistance for those in dire needs of it”, Guantero added.

Image Credit: www.telegraph.co.uk