Lacson seeks review of disaster management law

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Panfilo Lacson is seeking a review of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 to make it more responsive in dealing with the adverse effects of climate change, as frequent destructive typhoons have become the new normal.

In Senate Resolution No. 10, Lacson said it is time for the Congressional Oversight Committee to revisit Republic Act 10121 to find ways to improve the law and its implementation.

He said while the law provides for a congressional sunset review five years after its passage, no such evaluation had taken place.

“There is a need to revisit the Act in order determine its effectivity and relevance when it comes to the country’s response to the challenges of the ‘new normal’ and the alarming rate of climate change, and to propose possible remedial measures,” he said.

Lacson once served as presidential assistant for rehabilitation and recovery from December 2013 to February 2015 in the aftermath of super Typhoon Yolanda.

He noted that the law was enacted on May 27, 2010 to strengthen the country’s institutional capacity for disaster risk reduction and management and build local communities’ resilience to disaster and climate change impacts.

While many natural and manmade calamities had hit the country since the law was enacted – including the Zamboanga crisis in September 2013 and the Bohol earthquake a month later, it was typhoon Yolanda in November that year that “tested the legal and institutional capabilities of both the national and local governments as established by the Act and exposed the disconnect between the provisions of the Act and the realities and dynamics on the ground,” Lacson said.

On the other hand, he cited the World Risk Report 2015 published by United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, which ranked the country third in the World Risk Index, after Vanuatu and Tonga.

He said the German-watch Global Climate Risk Index 2016 listed the country fourth in most affected countries from 1995 to 2014 in the Long-Term Climate Risk Index. 

“There is also a necessity to evaluate the performance of government agencies in implementing the provisions of the Act and to determine whether the mandates were carried out effectively, and if the mechanisms and processes established are effectual,” he said.