Truth be told, the country is making improvements in disaster management. Not that the Ompong devastation isn’t big enough. Save for the landslides that claimed scores of casualties caused in part by the illegal mining operations in Itogon, Benguet, the government’s disaster response is better than the previous calamities.
In sum, typhoon Ompong left 114 dead in the Northern Luzon and other parts of the country, with dozens still missing as of last count. In 2013, Yolanda left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
It helped that improvements have been in place for preparedness to natural hazards among LGUs in the country. The upgrade of equipment for PAGASA also paved the way for improvements in weather forecasting and modeling climate change. And then there’s the Disaster Risk and Rescue Management Councils in the LGU levels which undertook their own initiatives to reduce disaster risks in their areas and increase the awareness and resilience of their constituencies.
Still, it left a lot to be improved and some important legislations to be done.
There are two pieces of legislation that are worth working at in the aftermath of Ompong. There’s Senate Bill No. 1553, which sought for the creation of the Department of Disaster and Emergency Management and its counterpart bill in the House of Representatives House Bill 8165, which proposed the Department of Disaster Resilience. If the measure passes Congress, it will create a super agency that will lead the national coordination of efforts for reducing the risks, preparing for the impacts of hazards, and rehabilitating should disasters occur. These legislations also aim to streamline disaster risk reduction management and climate change adaptation planning to enhance implementation efficiency.
Aside from these important pieces of legislation, enhancing the capabilities of the DRRM Councils in the countrysides should be pursued. It may not be done overnight but the urgency indeed requires immediate action.
There is a need, therefore, to have the mindset that climate change is the biggest threat the country must face. Government officials must now focus the country’s disaster management framework to anticipating disasters and mitigating their causes. Part of that is to review mining activities in the country and other possible risk areas, and to empower communities to prepare for the impacts of natural calamities, if not avoid it.
