Poe bats for urgent passage of new disaster agency

January 3, 2019

Senator Grace Poe said Thursday there is urgency to pass a bill that would create the Department of Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management, saying the people's safety needs cannot wait.

Poe's Senate Bill 1735 filed in March 2018, seeks a new agency which will have the authority in the policy-making, planning, coordination, implementation and evaluation of programs relating to disaster risk reduction and management.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said as of Thursday 122 persons have died due to Tropical Storm "Usman" and prevailing weather systems.

Poe cited the need for enhanced coordination between the national government and local government units to effectively respond to the needs of communities before and after calamities, such as typhoons.

The measure aims to strengthen the country's disaster risk reduction and management system and institutions, particularly the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which was created in 2010.

Poe said she received text messages from people trapped in their homes and seeking help.

"It appears there is lack of coordination between national government and local government units, because there is no point person at the NDRRMC," she said in a radio interview.

"We have been discussing this but there other priorities of government. What's sad is we remember this when there is a disaster," she added.

The NDRRMC is technically under the Department of National Defense, which is also addressing many concerns, she said.

Poe said the NDRRMC is almost powerless because it is not headed by an official with a Cabinet rank.

Under SB 1735, the NDRRMC shall be transferred from the Department of National Defense to the proposed Department of Disaster Resilience and Emergency Management.

The proposed department shall serve as the secretariat and Executive arm and convert the NDRRMC's plan into "specific operational guidelines and programs." It shall also have regional offices.

The proposed department shall also have bureaus on disaster resilience, disaster preparation and response, and knowledge management and dissemination.

The bill is being deliberated by the defense committee. Poe hopes the Senate will pass it quickly.

The House of Representatives earlier approved its version of the bill on final reading.

Sessions will resume on Jan. 14, but Congress will go on break anew starting February. DMS