Iloilo - In recent weeks, time and again the question of whether the government is prepared to deal with a four-pronged disaster which hit Japan – earthquake, tsunami, fire and nuclear radiation is a question that is yet to be answered categorically.
In the regional consultation workshop on the formulation of guidelines for accreditation, mobilization and protection of disaster volunteers, held in Iloilo City, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council through Usec Benito T. Ramos said there is a need to capacitate and build commitment among the different stakeholders by coming up with well-formulated guidelines for accreditation, mobilization and protection of disaster volunteers to be able to respond during times of disaster.
In that same consultation workshop, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) identified several issues, based on the assessment of the then RDCC of region 6, made right after Typhoon Frank, that need to be in place for the national and local governments and the volunteers to really say the government is prepared to meet future disasters.
According to Director Evelyn Trompeta of the DILG in region 6, the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils are functional only in times of disasters. In fact there are some municipalities which have not even activated their councils.
Trompeta also said that per observation, field realities reveal that majority of the Disaster Risk Management Councils have no idea of incident command system, no formulated contingency plan and lack of operation centers to function as the nerve center for all operational coordination.
“When put to the test, DRRMCs lack systems and capability for fast, accurate and comprehensive data gathering of damage assessment using a standard and user friendly format” said Trompeta.
At the community level, Trompeta also pointed out that the warning system is poor and unreliable, and a general lack of public awareness in disaster concerns.
Trompeta added that many search and rescue emergency response groups, are not adequately trained, so too with many rescue volunteers.
According to Trompeta “there is a huge gap in relief operations coordination between the national, local governments and the non-government agencies.”
Meanwhile, Director Rosario Cabrera of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said that while many of these are still true, they will be coming up soon with a new assessment of DRRMCs on how well they can deal with disasters now.
Two important laws govern the operation and performance of DRRMCs. These are the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act of 2010 (RA 20121) and the Climate Change Act of 2009 (RA 9729).
Under the DRRMC plan, among others, there should be coordinated action in terms of legislation and policies, provide for environmental conservation and implementation of economic development programs as well.
On the other hand under the Climate Change Act, the adaptation and mitigation programs need to be integrated into the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of the different localities.
Trompeta said “the mantra of LGUs on disasters should be climate proofing because at the end of the day, LGUs whether they like it or not, must cope with climate change.(JCM/PIA6)
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