Bill creating Dept. of Disaster Resilience approved at House committee level

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved an unnumbered substitute bill creating the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR).

Albay Representative Joey Salceda, one of the authors of the measure that was approved by the joint House government reorganization and disaster resilience panel, said the DDR will be the principal government institution responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive, and disaster resilient communities.

The DDR will also be the primary government agency responsible for leading, organizing, and managing the national effort to reduce disaster risk, prepare for and respond to disasters, recover and rehabilitate, and build forward better after the occurrence of calamities.

These provisions, Salceda said, will address the loopholes under Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 or the Republic Act 10121  which established the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“A key weakness of Republic Act 10121 is that the NDRRMC is not a focused agency with capacity to implement programs, activities, and projects,  including pre-disaster activities. The recent death toll of Kristine has made it painfully obvious that we need to foster, and in some cases, recover a culture of preparedness only made possible by strong, empowered institutions,” Salceda said during his presentation ahead of the bill’s committee level approval.

At least 150 people reportedly died as a result of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, which hit the country last October.

“Good institutions save lives. Flawed institutions endanger lives. I think we are all aligned that the current NDRRMC framework, which leaves little room for preparation and permanent resilience, is lacking,” Salceda said.

Salceda added that he has also asked the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to continue working with the Department of National Defense (DND) to ensure DND’s support for the measure.

“I understand that the [Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro] still has reservations on the whole bill. I am still optimistic we can arrive at common points of agreement,” the Bicolano lawmaker said.

The NDRRMC is currently under the auspices of the DND. —RF, GMA Integrated News