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On the Creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience: Saying that business as usual in rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts is a disaster in itself, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri appeals to his colleagues to reconsider their position on a pending measure that seeks to create a department of disaster resilience. Zubiri said that while he completely agrees with the proposed measure on right sizing and that some agencies may be merged or some may be removed altogether, there is also a need to move forward from the traditional method the government has been practicing since the passage of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) measure wherein the office of civil defense will take charge of disaster management. “I know some of our dear colleagues are averse to the increase of agencies of government but we really have to improve our disaster response. So maybe at the proper time, in a caucus with our colleagues, maybe we can discuss this and get the consensus of our colleagues,” Zubiri said during the marathon hybrid plenary deliberation on the proposed P4.506 trillion national budget for 2021 Monday, November 16, 2020. (Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB)