Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has underscored the urgency of building permanent evacuation centers, with priority given to calamity-prone areas, in light of the recent onslaught in the southern and central Philippines of this year’s strongest typhoon so far to hit the country that has displaced some 400,000 families.
Villafuerte expressed the hope that part of the P4 billion fund that the President thus far committed for relief efforts to about 400,000 displaced families in the Visayas and Mindanao following the destruction wrought by typhoon Odette would include the construction of such permanent evacuation sites.
Villafuerte, who was among the principal authors of the bill, said building these evacuation centers will avoid the situation wherein families dislocated because of natural calamities become stuck in public schools or other temporary shelters without adequate facilities for months after their dislocation.
“As early as 2018, when a strong typhoon also hit Luzon at that time, I have been proposing the construction of permanent evacuation centers in strategic parts of the country. I hope that the President who earlier bared a similar plan for the simultaneous setting up of durable evacuation centers in disaster-prone areas, would be able to execute his plan before the end of his term,” said Villafuerte.
According to reports, the President has directed government agencies to “use all government assets we can” in order to provide for people affected by typhoon Odette, and initially committed P2 billion for this effort.
In his trip to Bohol, Cebu and other affected areas in the Visayas and Mindanao last Monday, the President committed another P2 billion to augment his initial commitment of P2 billion for relief and recovery efforts in the Odette-devastated provinces.
As of December 19, more than 80 people have been reported to have died from the typhoon, with the highest death toll in the province of Bohol.
Under House Bill (HB) No. 8990, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be in charge of building the evacuation sites, while local city and municipal governments shall be responsible for running and maintaining the centers. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will serve as the lead agency.
Earlier, Villafuerte welcomed the passage by the House of Representatives of a measure paving the way for the construction of permanent evacuation centers across the country, especially in his disaster-prone home region of Bicol, and appealed to senators to immediately consider passing a counterpart bill in the Senate for the benefit of would-be displaced families in future natural calamities.
Under House Bill (HB) No. 8990, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be in charge of building the evacuation sites, while local city and municipal governments shall be responsible for running and maintaining the centers. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will serve as the lead agency.
Villafuerte, who was among the principal authors of the bill, said building these evacuation centers will avoid the situation wherein families dislocated because of natural calamities become stuck in public schools or other temporary shelters without adequate facilities for months after their dislocation.
He said the construction of climate resilient evacuation centers should top the concerns of the would-be Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), so the government could best achieve its zero-casualty goal as this office and other concerned government agencies could fully implement preemptive evacuation, especially of people in coastal and mountainous communities.
Villafuerte was also among the principal authors of the measure on the proposed creation of the DDR.
