Dinagat Islands Representative Alan 1 B. Ecleo
DURING the deliberations of the House Subcommittee on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation yesterday, Dinagat Islands Representative Alan 1 B. Ecleo reiterated his call to “reform and update” laws and rules on Risk Reduction and Management in the country.
Ecleo, who now heads the House Committee on Disaster Resilience, stressed the experience of Dinagat Islands before, during, and in the two years after the Province was devastated by Category 4 Supertyphoon Odette in the measures he filed before the Subcommittee, namely:
1. House Bill 08077 Or “An Act Amending Sections 22, 26, 27 0f Republic Act No. 10121, Otherwise Known As The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction And Management (PDRRM) Act, And For Other Purposes”; And
2. House Resolution 00969, Or “A Resolution Urging The Office Of Civil Defense (OCD) Of The Department 0f National Defense To Streamline And Further Rationalize The System For The Management Of The National Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Fund By Updating The Revised Guidelines On The Administration 0f The Same.”
“Several of the law’s processes on rehabilitation (including terms and periods), as well as the corresponding Implementing Rules and Regulations are now proving to be insufficient or at least inefficient for calamity-stricken communities and constituents,” Ecleo said in his explanatory note for HB08077.
Ecleo noted that the PDRRM Act was enacted more than 13 years ago, at least two years before Typhoon Pablo and the deadly Bohol earthquake, three years before Typhoon Yolanda, seven years before the Marawi Siege, and eleven years before Typhoon Odette. “Clearly, the law requires an update for the same to be more responsive to the needs of the people and to be relevant to current challenges of climate change,” he continued.
HB08077 aims to extend the period in which affected Provinces can request aid from the NDRRM fund and requires the Committee on Disaster Resilience to be part of the Congressional Oversight Committee which monitors the implementation of the PDRRM Law. It also sets forth an annual “sunset review” or systematic evaluation of the impact of the Law, led by the Oversight Committee.
Meanwhile, HR00969 urges the OCD to streamline its processes in providing aid from the NDRRM Fund so as not to “frustrate calamity stricken communities with procedures and requirements that restrict instead of facilitate.”
Both measures passed the Subcommittee level, with HB08077 to be consolidated with similar and related Bills passed by other representatives.
