Marcos pushes bills strengthening Philippines resilience vs disasters

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos is pushing for the passage of measures aimed at strengthening the country’s resilience to disasters, ensuring water and food security, protecting the environment and promoting good governance.

In a report released by Malacañang after he delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos cited the need to work with Congress to approve bills that would help his administration achieve its targets.

At least nine measures were enumerated in the 240-page report, which tackled the administration’s accomplishments in the past three years.

To ensure food and water security, the administration is pushing for the enactment of the National Land Use Act, which seeks to craft a holistic plan to ensure the optimum use of the country’s land resources.

“A food- and water-secure Philippines will be sustained through the support of the legislature. The administration shall continue to push for the approval of the National Land Use Act and the DWR (Department of Water Resources) Act,” the President said.

Marcos said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is also pushing for amendments to Republic Act No. 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

According to the President, the measure aims to strengthen the institutional and organizational capacity of the NDRRMC and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in preparing for and responding to the effects of hazards and other calamities.

The President also called on Congress to ensure the immediate passage of four bills related to efforts to protect the integrity of the environment and to achieve climate resilience.

They are the measure imposing excise tax on single-use plastics, the Blue Economy Act, the waste-to-energy bill and amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 that seek to strengthen the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Marcos said his administration would also continuously work with Congress for the passage of the New Government Auditing Code and the Budget Modernization Act.

The nine measures are on top of the two bills Marcos mentioned during his fourth SONA last Monday, namely the amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) law and the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act.

The President said amending the law that institutionalized the 4Ps would ensure that there is enough time to uplift the beneficiaries of the conditional cash grant program. More than five million households have received assistance under the program since the Marcos assumed office in 2022.

The President also urged Congress to pass the proposed amendment to the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act to make it more responsive to the needs of coconut farmers. The law, enacted in 2021, aims to ensure efficient use of the trust fund in line with the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan.

Disaster resilience

At a post-SONA forum, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the Philippines can overcome natural disasters and the impacts of climate change through science, technology and discipline.

In his remarks at the forum, Solidum highlighted the Marcos administration’s push for smarter disaster preparedness, citing the government’s growing arsenal of modern technologies from doppler radars to landslide sensors, mobile command vehicles and AI-powered forecasting tools to better monitor, address and plan for climate-driven threats. — Helen Flores, Mark Ernest Villeza, Emmanuel Tupas