PNoy wants better govt response to disasters

Government needs to respond better in times of calamities, particularly in goading residents to leave their homes and head for evacuation centers, the President said Monday in the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel. “Hahanapan natin ng [paraan para] matugunan lahat ito, ‘yung pangangailangan ng mga lilikas, at siguro naman mabawasan naman ‘yung peligrong dinadaanan ng mga nagre-rescue," President Benigno Aquino III said at a press briefing. “Ang laki ng difference ng preparedness ng atin pong gobyerno. Pero like anything made by man ay puwede namang ma-improve. So, we are looking for ways and means to improve it," he said. Most of the people in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Pangasinan, as well as other areas overwhelmed by disastrous floods refused to leave their houses for fear of loosing their material possessions to looters, disaster officials said. Malacañang over the weekend asked the residents to heed calls to evacuate. Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda cited two specific areas where government may improve its response to disasters. “Evacuation of residents and making sure subsistence fishermen are timely informed and prevented from going out to sea," he said in a text message to GMA News Online. Evacuating people can be improved by implementing what is already in black and white, according to the Palace official. “We will strictly enforce the protocols on evacuation, warning, public information, voluntary evacuation, and when required, forced evacuation," Lacierda said. “At the same time, police will maintain visibility presence in evacuated residences," he added. To take care of subsistence fishermen, “[the] President tasked [the] DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] to provide subsistence provisions on days they cannot go out to sea in order to provide them food for temporary livelihood," Lacierda said. Under a state of calamity The provinces of Pangasinan and Ifugao are now under a state of calamity. Earlier, 12 areas were also placed under a state of calamity. These included the following:

• Santiago City (Isabela)
• Obando, Calumpit and Meycauayan City (Bulacan)
• Olongapo City
• Dinalupihan (Bataan)
• Tarlac City
• Nueva Ecija
• Noveleta (Cavite)
• Malabon, Navotas and Marikina Cities (NCR)

Forced evacuation On the issue of evacuees, two senators on Monday suggested implementing forced evacuation on the part of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). “Can you not use coercion? You can bodily take them," Sen. Panfilo Lacson said during the NDRRMC's Senate briefing. Lacson chairs the Senate panel of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. “Time is of the essence here," added Sen. Gregorio Honasan. “We cannot dilly-dally when they are vulnerable."
A single authority on dams The creation of an agency in charge of operating dams all over the Philippines, particularly during typhoon season, is another measure the Aquino administration is considering. Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul Jr. cited, during Monday’s climate change committee hearing at the Senate, the United States which has a single authority in charge of deciding when the dams can release water. “Somebody has to make that call," he said. The national government can also expand the concept of Filipino purok system used by Camotes Island in Cebu, which received the United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction. Incidentally, amid government discussions on disaster preparedness, the UN has advised Asian governments to ramp up their investments in disaster risk reduction to curb and prevent the floods ravaging a number of Asian countries. The UN wants Asian governments to ramp up their investments in disaster risk reduction to curb and prevent the floods ravaging a number of Asian countries, the international organization said over the weekend. The system is a community-based means of doing consultations and spreading information on impending disasters. “People shouldn’t die because of floods. We have the technology to alert communities before floods arrive. People can be evacuated in time, lives saved and livelihoods protected," said Margareta Wahlström, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for disaster risk reduction. PNoy to visit affected provinces Aquino plans to visit the provinces overwhelmed by Typhoons Pedring and Quiel, but only after his Cabinet has crafted a rehabilitation plan. NDRRMC data showed 55 people were killed and 65 were injured from Typhoon Pedring, with 28 still missing as of Monday. The NDRRMC said Pedring, which made landfall in northern Luzon’s Cagayan-Isabela area on Sept. 27, affected 569,304 families or 2,667,348 people in 3,161 villages in 294 towns and 41 cities in 34 provinces. Of these, 35,705 families or 164,656 people are being served in 492 evacuation centers. — With a report by Victor Sollorano/PE, GMA News