Yolanda shows the need for an Emergency Management Agency

Acedillo

Acedillo

We can give value to all the sufferings caused by typhoon Yolanda and the initial ineptness of the government if we learn lessons from it that can benefit not only us in the future but also the generations to come.

As The Prophet, said, “Suffering is in the grand scheme of things. It is meant to teach a lesson. Sometimes it takes a lot of repeating until the lesson is learned. Both good and bad people reap the benefits of the sunshine. Both good and bad people receive rain for their crops. Chaos and disaster befalls both the good and the bad. The difference in the aftermath of tragedy is the lesson learned or not learned.”

Now that finally, relief efforts in places devastated by typhoon Yolanda seems to be moving , it’s time to use lessons learned to improve our capability to cope with natural disasters.

Rep. Ashley Acedillo of the Magdalo group, posted this in his Facebook page last week:

“In the short term, we’re trying to coordinate both concrete actions in our own capacity to respond as well as steer national decision-making in the right direction as to the proper response. After that, and once the emergency has passed, our Oversight Committee on Disaster and Risk Reduction plans to convene immediately and assess government response in a no-holds barred session.

“Finally, long term, we need to pass a law to make permanent a Cabinet-level department solely dedicated to disaster and crisis management – and not a Council like the one we have now supervising similar ad hoc disaster response offices – which are clearly ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of being in a country third-most prone to calamities compared to the rest of the world.”
Acedillo said Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, he and with another Magdalo Representative Gary Alejano agreed to push for a dedicated disaster management agency.

Guiuan, Samar by Mario Ignacio, VERA Files

Guiuan, Samar by Mario Ignacio, VERA Files

In fact they had filed last July House Bill 00969, establishing the Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
Trillanes also filed a similar bill in the Senate (SB 819).

EMA would replace the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council . Trillanes said EMA would be a better set-up for a crisis/disaster situation than the NDRRMC, which is a council in nature. It would also be the disbursing agency of the calamity funds so it would have its own resources as opposed to getting a small share from the defense budget.”
Some of the powers and functions of EMA as stated in the bill:

1. Formulate policies on emergency and disaster response and management and develop a comprehensive national Emergency and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Plan.

2. Advise the President on the status of emergency and disaster response, recovery. Mitigation, risk reduction, prevention and preparedness efforts being undertaken by concerned government and private entities.

3. Recommend to the President the declaration of State of Calamity in areas extensively damaged and submit proposals to establish normalcy in the affected areas.

4. Ensure that all emergency and disaster preparedness and mitigation activities such as training, public information and other programs/projects requiring regional and international support shall be carried out in accordance with duly established national policies.

5. Foster and facilitate the participation of non-government agencies in measures taken by the government for emergency and disaster-related concerns.

After Yolanda, this should be a priority bill.