House bill to set up evacuation centers in every city, municipality OK’d on final reading

The House of Representatives on Monday approved a bill establishing evacuation centers in every city and municipality in the country on third and final reading.

House Bill 7354, which gathered 307 yes votes, one no vote and no abstention, establishes an evacuation center in every city and municipality in the country that shall provide immediate and temporary accommodation for people who have been displaced or evacuated from their homes due to disasters, calamities, or other emergency events.

Likewise, the measure states that existing structures that meet the minimum requirements or those that can be upgraded to serve effectively as evacuation centers may be designated as such in compliance with the local government unit (LGU) concerned.

In addition, House Bill 7354 mandates the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to construct the evacuation centers, including the formulation of building specifications, as well as tasks the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), in coordination with the local executives of provinces, cities, and municipalities, to identify areas to be given the highest priority in the establishment of new evacuation centers.

The bill also mandates the NDRRMC to make a priority list of LGUs that need evacuation centers, as well as allows an LGU included in the priority list of LGUs that need an evacuation center to improve schools or existing structures used as evacuation centers by making these compliant with the minimum requirements such as location and structural capacity, when there is no  available site to construct a new evacuation center.

Further, the bill designates the LGUs concerned as primarily responsible for the operation, supervision, and management of evacuation centers established under this Act and authorizes the LGUs to issue the rules and regulations on the proper use and maintenance of evacuation centers, among others.

Ultimately, the bill gives authority to the local sanggunian to promulgate guidelines and procedures for the use and operation of the evacuation center under its jurisdiction.

The bill also allows the use of the evacuation center, when it is not used as such, for other activities or purposes that involve the use of collapsible amenities and those that will not in any way compromise the serviceability of the evacuation center or impede the use thereof when a disaster occurs. — BM, GMA Integrated News