Press Release
October 5, 2009

BUILD PERMANENT COMMUNITY-CUM-EVACUATION CENTERS - CHIZ

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday reiterated his call for government to build community centers which can be used to house evacuees in disaster-prone areas as well as the reinforcement of vital public infrastructure in regions regularly visited by typhoons.

"We all know which provinces usually are hardest hit by typhoons. Why don't we build community centers for evacuees that can also be used alternatively as health or social centers?" Escudero asked.

"We should also have reinforced vital infrastructure? The money we spend for rebuilding could be much more than the cost of making sure that they withstand the strongest winds or the rampaging floods," he said.

He issued the statement in the wake of the destruction wrought by tropical storm Ondoy in Metro Manila and typhoon Pepeng in southern and northern Luzon. The 39-year old lawmaker had first made the proposal in the deadly aftermath of tropical storm Dante in Bicol in May.

Escudero said these community-cum-evacuation centers should be built in Metro Manila and all along Luzon's eastern seaboard which bore the brunt of at least five devastating typhoons every year.

Almost half a million people were displaced by Ondoy and Pepeng and thousands of evacuees remain in school buildings.

This has led to forced school holidays for thousands of school children who will now have to forego their scheduled semestral breaks to be able to catch up on their school work.

"Rather than selectively handing dole outs to LGUs during the typhoon season, the government should take a long-term view and channel funds to reinforce school buildings, power lines, public markets, bridges, and other vital infrastructure," Escudero said.

At the same time, Escudero stressed the importance of designing typhoon-resistant facilities similar to structures in Batanes when undertaking future construction in areas affected regularly by natural calamities.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons annually. In a report, the World Bank said the country incurred direct damages amounting to P15 billion yearly due to typhoons and other natural disasters.

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