Citing the importance of DRRM workers to the country, Senator Loren Legarda filed Senate Bill No. 2927, or the Magna Carta for Public Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Workers.
Legarda said it is important for the bill to be passed into law to help recognize the efforts of DRRM workers in a country that has consistently topped the World Risk Index among 193 countries.
“The country as a whole faces natural hazards more than any other nation in the world; we face earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other natural and human-induced hazards,” remarked the UNDRR Global Champion for Resilience.
“With the passage of this bill into law, we want the government to recognize the significance of their contributions by supporting those who consistently risk their lives to save others from certain destruction,” the veteran legislator added.
“The proposed law seeks to institutionalize measures that protect DRRM workers’ welfare, promote professional growth, and enhance the capacity to deliver critical services efficiently.”
According to the bill, the proposed law seeks to institutionalize measures that protect DRRM workers’ welfare, promote professional growth, and enhance the capacity to deliver critical services efficiently.
Moreover, there will be efforts to improve the working conditions of DRRM workers in terms of career advancement and psychosocial care to help them be equipped to satisfy their roles.
In addition, there will be provisions to provide hazard pay for high-risk activities, mandatory insurance coverage, overtime pay, night differential, and retirement pay for eligible DRRM workers, among others.
“To be disaster resilient, we must be able to be capable of covering all fields, including our DRRM workers that have tirelessly risked their lives in the field.”
“To be disaster resilient, we must be able to be capable of covering all fields, including our DRRM workers that have tirelessly risked their lives in the field,” the seasoned lawmaker stressed.
“As we seek ourselves to be more capable against the power of Mother Nature and increase the chance of safety, we hope that the passage of this bill into law can also help inspire many to stay in this noble endeavor,” the lady senator added.
Legarda is a co-sponsor of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, as well as the principal author of the PAGASA Modernization Act of 2015, which has helped the country be better prepared against annual typhoons.
