UP Forum: Should there be a new disaster agency?

MANILA, Philippines – Every year, the Philippines experiences typhoons, and other natural disasters owing to its geographic location next to the Pacific Ocean. These natural hazards inflict loss of lives, costly damage to property, and a surplus of unnecessary repercussions.

Being a hotspot for catastrophic phenomena, some of the country’s lawmakers have pushed for better legal mechanisms and implementing bodies to properly handle the situation. House discussions on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) have been going on for years. It took Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) to highlight the urgent need for more sufficient and more effective legal provisions.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has been mainly tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the protection of the people affected by natural disasters by virtue of Republic Act 10121 (The NDRRMC Law of 2010).

However, concerns on the competence of the agency and its underlying legal framework have been raised after recent disasters hit the country.

Several bills are pending in the Senate and in the House of Representatives to amend RA 10121. Among the proposals seeking approval is Senate Bill No. 1940, authored by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

One specialized agency on disaster?

Senate Bill 1940, or the Emergency Response Department Act of 2013 seeks to establish a full-time agency that is more responsive to disasters and deftly suited for handling calamities. This is due to the provisions of the bill that will allow the department, if enacted into law, to be “One specialized agency with a streamlined approach, working 24/7 to minimize the risk of disasters and to protect human lives,” as stated in the briefer provided by Sen. Cayetano’s office.

(READ: Senate Bill 1940, or the Emergency Response Department Act of 2013)

UP Lex Adspirantes, an academic-oriented organization in the UP Diliman College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, will host the forum “Now What? A Forum on the Emergency Response Department Act of 2013” on Friday, March 14, 1pm-4pm, at the Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law.

Speakers and reactors

Speaking at the forum are Tom Temprosa, the legislative director of Senator Cayetano, and lawyers Joey Capones and Marge Alias, who both helped the senator draft the bill.

The educational event will also be attended by Rappler multi-media reporter Voltaire Tupaz, who covered disasters in Bohol and Leyte. He is also advocating the use of MovePH‘s DRRM information platform Project Agos. 

Redbert Maines of the UP for Climate Justice, a campaign that seeks to introduce long-term solutions that will help address the impacts of climate change in the Philippines, will also participate in the discussion.

Tupaz and Maines will react on the provisions of the bill based on their expertise and advocacies.

Interested professionals, advocates, and students may contact UP Lex Adspirantes through the organization’s social media accounts:

Facebook: http://facebook.com/UPLexAd

Twitter: @UPLexAd

Participants can proceed to the Malcolm Theater, UP College of Law, Diliman, Quezon City on Friday afternoon. You may also participate in the forum through the Project Agos Discuss and Debate online forum. – Rappler.com