Go stresses disaster resiliency

MANILA, Philippines — As massive flooding and landslides brought by Tropical Storm Agaton wiped out villages and left hundreds of thousands in the Visayas and Mindanao homeless, Sen. Bong Go has again highlighted the urgent need to prioritize enhancement of disaster resiliency measures in the country.

The senator, who has been delivering aid to disaster-hit communities across the country in the past years, revealed how he has personally witnessed the plight of residents affected by disasters.

He and President Duterte visited Western Leyte Provincial Hospital in Baybay City on April 15, where they checked on Steven Lumanta, a boy who had to celebrate his 12th birthday knowing that only his younger sibling is left in his family after landslides in the city triggered by Agaton buried dozens, including his parents, under mud and debris.

Since Agaton made its first landfall in Guiuan, Eastern Samar on April 10, the total fatalities reported in areas hit by the tropical storm have climbed to 167, of whom 151 came from Eastern Visayas alone, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

Affected individuals from the Bicol region, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Region 12, Caraga and BARMM have reached 1,939,514 while 348,359 have been displaced and forced to seek shelter at evacuation centers.

Go once again stressed that while natural disasters cannot be avoided, what the government can do is to further strengthen disaster preparedness, reduce casualties and hasten the victims’ recovery with measures such as Senate Bill Nos. 205 and 1228.

SB 205 or the proposed Disaster Resilience Act was filed by Go back in 2019 to streamline the country’s disaster preparedness mechanisms by establishing a Department of Disaster Resilience.

“I will not lose hope. Maybe, at the proper time, this will get approved because we really need a Cabinet level secretary for better coordination between national government agencies and local government offices,” he said, referring to his proposed bill. “We should be one step ahead in dealing with calamities.”

Go also renewed his call for the passage of SB 1228, which will mandate the establishment of safe and properly equipped evacuation centers in every municipality, city and province across the Philippines.

Both bills are currently pending before the Senate committee on national defense and security, peace, unification and reconciliation.