It’s about time we have a Department of Disaster Resilience

During his third State of the Nation Address, President Duterte mentioned the creation of a new department that would focus on disaster management. In a tropical country like ours, an archipelago that welcomes typhoons from the Pacific and an active member of the Ring of Fire, we definitely need a strong team to manage the deadly disasters that come our way.

The President called Congress to create a Department of Disaster Resilience. He said he wants a “truly empowered department characterized by a unity of command, science-based approach and full-time focus on natural hazards and disasters, and the wherewithal to take charge of disaster risk reduction; preparedness and response; with better recovery and faster rehabilitation.”

Tomorrow, September 11 is the scheduled debate in the Plenary. The House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo acted right away on the legislative measure. House Bill 8165 was passed for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience. The version of the House Bill, which underwent intensive deliberations of the joint committees on Government Reorganization and National Defense and final approval by the Committee on Appropriation with a proposed initial budget of P21-billion was presented during the Plenary at the House of Representatives on September 5, 2018.

After it passes the second reading, this Bill co-authored and signed by 157 Congressmen will be transmitted to the Senate. It will then be tackled with the counterpart Senate Bill, which I hope is equally impressive.

According to Representative Joey Salceda (one of the principal authors), the bill actually began with the “sunset review” of the NDRRMC Act of 2010 a provision under the same law. It began in earnest in 2015 until 2016, which was the basis for the initial draft. The technical working group (TWG) of the House Committees engaged stakeholders in 6 TWG meetings, 3 Committee hearings, 2 writeshops and 14 regional consultations with 1,600 LGUs.

After reading the approved version of the bill on the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience Committee Report 842 signed by Representatives Amado Espino Jr. (Chairperson, Committee on National Defense), Xavier D. Romualdo (Committee on Government Reorganization) and Karlo B. Nograles (Chairperson, Committee on Appropriations), I felt that finally, the House is doing something to address our disaster woes.

Under the law, it is proposed that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA), and the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) of DOST will be moved into the DDR as attached agencies, whereas the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) of DND, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) of DILG, Geohazards Division of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of DENR, Health and Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) of DOH, and Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau (DREAMB) of DSWD will be under the new department. Of course, DOST Secretary Fortunato dela Peña rejected the proposal and threatened to resign if the two agencies (PAGASA & Phivolcs) under the DOST will be transferred. Disappointed with the opposition, Salceda said that “Climate and disaster threats have more force than Dela Peña’s personal threat.”

House Bill 8165 key provisions are written in the last page of Committee Report 842 and contain a lot of best practices on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation. It is not just about disaster response and recovery but contains a lot of provisions for building disaster resilience through anticipatory planning.

I was also pleased to see the following provisions: 1) Incorporation of internationally accepted principles of disaster risk and vulnerability reduction and management; 2) Ensurance of a science-based approach in a whole-of-society approach; 3) Promotion and advancement of a comprehensive Disaster Risk and Vulnerability Reduction Plan; 4) Development, maintenance and ensurance of climate geospatial information and services to the public through Open Data; 5) Measures on gender, disability and vulnerability sensitive and cultural sensitive practices with recognition of indigenous knowledge systems; 6) Recognition and strengthening of the capacities of LGUs as well as decentralized powers, responsibilities and resources at the regional and local levels; 7) Adoption of comprehensive, integrated and responsive disaster risk reduction efforts that adheres to transparency, accountability and other principles of good governance; 8) Mainstreaming of information to barangay level; 9) Adherence to the principle of building better forward; 10) Ensurance of the use of advanced science and most-up-to-date technologies and management through engagement and consultation; 11) Ensurance of worker’s rights; 12) Establishment of a National Loss and Damage Registry; 13) Adherence to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); 14) Adoption of Risk Transfer Mechanisms; 15) Probabilistic Risk Assessment, which is necessary for anticipatory planning; 16) Magna Carta that ensures hazards pay for our frontline disaster practitioners; and 17) Mainstreaming of gender and social inclusion in all aspects of the Department of Disaster resilience work from planning, monitoring to evaluation.

One of the best that I saw in the document was the “employment with regular funding of academe or higher education institutions, such as the University of the Philippines Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards Center.” Establishing partnership with the academe will surely keep this department in tow. I’m also happy to note that Congress heeded to the public’s clamor to re-establish Project NOAH hailed by the international community as one of the best in the world for disaster resilience, big data analytics and use of high-technology for disaster response plans.

Here’s hoping that during the sessions, key provisions will not be stricken out by lobbyists and that the bill will be passed right away. Our country urgently needs the creation of a single Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-like department, a concerted effort by government with a point person who will be answerable to the President in times of crisis.

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Among the political detractors of President Digong, Senator Antonio Trillanes may be the most vilified in social media, but the latest move of the Palace in revoking his amnesty granted by former President PNoy may have brought him a number of sympathizers. Some of his haters even made Facebook posts expressing concern for him as if he had become a martyr overnight. Except for the swollen eye bags presumably due to lack of sleep, the former soldier appears unperturbed as he even warned that the AFP will do what is legal and moral.

This may be the third of a series of events befalling government personalities critical to the present administration. First, there was the story of “De Lima’s Dilemma,” which unraveled in dramatic fashion at a congressional inquiry on the drug trade in the national penitentiary. This was followed by the story of “The Fall of the Lady who Divided Faura,” where a Chief Justice, unwanted by the department she heads, was unceremoniously ousted.

Now, we are about to witness the third tale we may call “Amnesty Revoked: Ibalik si Antonio sa Kulungan,” which a friend describes as a scene straight from the hit TV series “Ang Probinsyano” – very unrealistic but is happening right before our eyes. From the viewpoint of a layperson, how could a former soldier, who is about to finish his second term as elected senator of the Republic, be reverted to his former status as a military officer to face a court martial?

Will the Commander-in-Chief and the military have more patience in waiting for the Senator to come out of his hole, or the issuance of an arrest warrant from the civil or military court, or the resolution of his application for a Temporary Restraining Order? Or will the Senator find a way to a nearby five-star hotel for a déjà vu? Abangan!