Country must fortify evacuations centers, President Duterte tells lawmakers
The government should prioritise the construction of sturdy evacuation centres to provide shelter to the vulnerable population during disasters; President Rodrigo Roa Duterte said on Tuesday as he asked lawmakers to act on it.
At present, schools and public buildings double up as evacuation centres. The President said this situation creates “an aberration in the movement or the development” of governmental functions and education.
The President said the government was able to manage the disaster well. Despite the ferocity of the weather disturbances. He said the lack of severe damage was because of the commendable performance of security forces and government agencies.
The President said that damages, casualties and impact of Typhoons Rolly, Siony, Tonyo and Ulysses were less than previous typhoons.
President Duterte praised government troops for their rescue efforts. He lauded Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for taking the lead in the planning and deployment of government personnel.
The government’s initiative to buy new equipment for security forces such as rubber boats has helped save more lives during rescue operations; he pointed out.
Local Government Praises President Duterte
Present during the meeting was Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año. He said the President’s order for government agencies to conduct early coordination and planning mitigated the damage by the storms. He also added that the order for early deployment of troops and other personnel aided in this too.
Striving for zero casualties in calamities in the future, Año said government agencies including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) are committed to improving their disaster management and strategies further.
On November 1, Super Typhoon Rolly, internationally known as Typhoon Goni, battered the Bicol Region and Southern Luzon. Typhoons Siony and Tonyo followed it.
And on November 11, Typhoon Ulysses, internationally known as Typhoon Vamco, devastated Quezon Province, Central Luzon, and the Bicol Region with heavy precipitation and strong winds.
The successive typhoons that ravaged the country left billions worth of damages in agriculture and infrastructures in its wake.
To find more information on the speech, visit the link here.
