Bong Go reassures government on top of situation, all assets mobilized for rescue and response; pushes for creation of DDR for more unified, integrated mechanism towards disaster resilience

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go gave his reassurance that the national government, led by President Rodrigo Duterte, is doing its best and is committed to using all available resources to assist in the rescue and response operations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those affected by the recent typhoons.

"Sa ngayon, ang focus natin ay ang rescue efforts. Importante mailigtas ang buhay ng mga Pilipinong apektado. Kaya sinigurado agad ng Pangulo na handang magamit lahat ng assets ng gobyerno para masagip ang mga nangangailangan ng saklolo," he said.

Go also assured the public that the President is on top of the situation. He pointed out that the government had always taken steps to prepare prior to typhoons making landfall through pre-emptive evacuations in coastal and flood-prone communities as well as preparing all emergency supplies necessary.

"Inatasan rin ng Pangulo ang mga ahensya ng gobyerno na tugunan ang lahat ng pangangailangan ng mga kababayan natin," Go said.

"Tulad ng sabi ng Pangulo, kapit lang tayo dahil hindi tayo pababayaan ng gobyernong palaging nagmamalasakit sa bawat Pilipino. Magbayanihan at magtulungan tayo," he added.

While in the middle of the virtual 37th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Summits, Duterte excused himself to address the nation. He later conducted an aerial inspection, along with the Senator Go, of the areas inundated by the typhoon in Metro Manila.

"Patuloy nating tinututukan ang sitwasyon. Ang mga local government units po ay nagsagawa naman ng preemptive evacuation at ang mga national agencies, tulad ng Department of Social Welfare and Development, ay nag-preposition rin ng mga relief goods at iba pang kailangan upang rumesponde kaagad sa pangangailangan ng mga nasalanta ng bagyo," he explained.

The Senator, however, acknowledged that measures must be institutionalized to improve disaster resilience and government's response to the worsening effects of climate change and natural disasters.

In order to address this, he reiterated his call for the creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience and the mandatory establishment of safe and equipped evacuation centers in every LGU.

"Para sa akin, kailangan talaga ng mas epektibong mekanismo para maging holistic, integrated, at streamlined ang ating disaster preparedness, response, recovery and rehabilitation efforts," Go advised before adding that the President is likewise working to improve coordination and the readiness of the pertinent national agencies.

"Habang ipinaglalaban natin ang pagsasabatas ng [Department of Disaster Resilience], nagbigay na ng direktiba ang Pangulo na siguraduhing lahat ng ahensya ay well-coordinated at handang tumugon sa pangangailangan ng mga apektado hanggang makabangon sila muli," he said.

In numerous occasions, Go has been consistent with his call for the passage of a bill that would create a department-level agency with a secretary who would be responsible for overseeing and implementing preparedness, response and resilience measures, and ensuring the safety of communities against future climate change related disasters.

"Tulad ngayon, iba iba pa ang emergency hotlines tapos yung mga humihingi ng saklolo hindi alam saan lalapit. Ang bawat ahensya may kanya-kanyang mandato kapag may sakuna bukod pa sa normal na tungkulin na kanilang ginagampanan. Pwede natin mas maisaayos pa ito," Go emphasized.

"Kung may iisang ahensya tayo na tututok sa paghahanda, pagresponde, pag-rescue, sa rehab at recovery efforts hanggang makabangon muli ang mga komunidad, mas maproprotektahan natin ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino," he added.

The proposed bill, Senate Bill No. 205, shall consolidate the essential functions of all disaster-related agencies into a single organization, called the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR). This will enable government to have a more streamlined approach toward mitigating the effects of climate-induced natural disasters as well as allow for the faster and more efficient delivery of services during a crisis event.

Moreover, SBN 205 will create a National Disaster Operations Center to manage and coordinate all disaster response efforts at the national level. A Disaster Resilience Research and Training Institute will also set up to train and to collect, consolidate, manage and share knowledge and information resources to boost disaster resilience.

Just as importantly, a Disaster Resilience Fund will be established to finance DDR's operations, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, response, recovery, rehabilitation and building forward better programs, projects and activities formulated at the national level

To complement these efforts, he also urged for the passage of SBN 1228 which provides for the establishment of an evacuation center in every city, province and municipality across the country.

The measure provides minimum requirements, such as amenities, location and accessibility, and operation and management, to ensure every evacuation center is properly equipped to address the needs and concerns of disaster concerns.

"Huwag na po tayong magsayang ng oras. Huwag na po natin antayin na may dumating pang matinding kalamidad na tumama sa ating bansa. It is time to scale up our preparedness and resiliency against natural disasters," Go previously said.