Senate prodded on bill creating disaster resilience department

MANILA, Philippines — A House leader yesterday called on the Senate to prioritize and pass the bill creating a Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) when Congress resumes session later this month.

“Much work is expected of us in the 18th Congress until the 2022 elections. But one of the bills that I wish to be enacted into law is DDR,” said Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.

“I intend to seek our senators’ help to get this measure approved before our term expires, especially now with the continued unrest of Taal Vocano,” the Leyte congressman added.

He stressed the country needs the proposed department which focuses on rehabilitation efforts and improve government’s rehabilitation capacity. 

Romualdez, chairman of the House committee on rules, added that the creation of the DDR was among President Duterte’s priority measures in his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

He and his wife, Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, are among the principal authors of House Bill 5989 for the creation of the DDR. 

Last Sept. 22, the House voted 241, with seven against and one abstention, to pass the measure on third and final reading.?The measure presents the DDR as the primary government institution responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster resilient communities.?“The Department of Disaster Resilience will provide leadership in the continuous development of strategic and systemic approaches to disaster prevention, mitigation preparedness response, recovery and rehabilitation,” Romualdez said.

“The DDR will provide a clear and comprehensive direction in the implementation of plans, programs and projects to reduce the risk of natural hazards and the effects of climate change and manage the impact of disasters,” he added.

The proposed law also establishes the National Disaster Operations Center (NDOC), Alternative Command Centers (ACC) and Disaster Resilience Research and Training Institute (DRRTI).

It retains local DRRM offices in provinces, cities and municipalities and renames them as Provincial, City and Municipality Disaster Resilience Offices, respectively. 

Lastly, the department has the power to recommend to the President the declaration of a state of calamity. 

Several bills on DDR are still pending before the Senate committees on national defense and security and peace, unification and reconciliation. – Christina Mendez