Press Release
January 17, 2010

ANGARA: LEARN FROM HAITI EXPERIENCE,
BEEF UP ON DISASTER RESPONSE

Sen. Edgardo Angara today called on government to strengthen policies on disaster and risk management and response systems, citing the recent earthquake in Haiti that killed 50,000 as a warning to Filipinos. He called on the National Disaster Coordination Council (NDCC) to improve its pre-emptive and post-calamity practices in order to lessen any impact should a similar quake hit the Philippines.

Angara specified the risk that the country faces with regard to earthquake incidences owing to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the pathway of earthquakes originating from the trenches of the Pacific Ocean. Several provinces in Eastern Visayas and Luzon are vulnerable to the quake pattern, extending all the way to Taiwan and South Korea.

"Particularly because many of the provinces that are in the perimeter of the Ring of Fire passing through the country, it is tantamount that we are prepared for such events. The recent event in Haiti can serve as a challenge to the Filipinos in preparedness to such calamities," Angara stressed.

Angara offered that with the recent passing of the 2010 national government budget, the NDCC must maximize its resources to implement international best practices.

In October last year Angara also called on the NDCC to adapt many international best practices in responding to the September super-floods brought about by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. He reminded the government that in spite of the lack of funds for such relief, rescue and medical operations, the NDCC and other relevant organizations have sufficient manpower and support from the people to address natural and man-made calamities in the country.

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