• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
    11 years ago

......................................................................................

The Daily Tribune

(Without Fear or Favor)

Specials:

Bulatlat.com

World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines

The Philippines Matrix Project

As Disasters Mount, Groups Call on Aquino to Address Urgent Need to Prepare The Country

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

As Disasters Mount, Groups Call on Aquino to Address Urgent Need to Prepare The Country


“Both structural and non-structural approaches should be adopted to lessen the impact of disasters. Hazard mapping must also be done for priority areas. In making hazard maps of local scale, it is best that community and scientific data are combined. Results of hazard mapping should be properly disseminated to population at risk.” – CDRC

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
Environmental and cause oriented groups have called on President Benigno Aquino III to pay wider attention to Disaster Risk Reduction. The escalating nuclear situation in Japan, the recent earthquakes in Haiti, Zealand and Japan, as well as the continuing heavy rains in the Philippines have prompted groups like the Disaster Response Center (CDRC) to call on Aquino President Benigno Aquino III to assess the disaster preparedness of the country. Cause oriented groups have been hounding the current administration because in the past, the government has always been ill prepared for disasters even as the country is disaster prone.

According to reports, Malacañang has already directed the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to assess the disaster preparedness of the country in the event of a quake-tsunami incident. Items for review include assessment of building safety standards, and status of tsunami warning systems.

Earlier, the CDRC welcomed Aquino’s move to support DDR efforts.

“We’ve been calling for our leaders to prioritize DRR since CDRC started. The President’s act of support to DRR efforts is well appreciated,” said Lourdes Louella Escandor, executive director of CDRC.

In 2010, CDRC called on the then newly-sworn president to prioritize DRR on his first 100 days in office. I said that Aquino should prioritize disaster preparedness and to fully implement Republic Act (RA) 10121 Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management which passed into law on May 27, 2010.

The DRRM Act calls for all government agencies and adjunct institutions to develop, promote, and implement a comprehensive National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) to strengthen the capacity of the national government and the local government units (LGUs) to build the disaster resilience of communities. The law calls for the institutionalization of arrangements and measures for reducing disaster risks, including projected climate risks, and enhancing disaster preparedness and response capabilities at all levels.

It’s also stated in the law that disaster risk reduction education should be integrated in the school curricula, and that mandatory training should be given to public sector employees.


CDRC gives community residents trainings on disaster management(Photo Courtesy of The Jordan Family / bulatlat.com)
The Department of Education, the Commission on Higher Education, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the National Youth Commission and government science and environment agencies are tasked to integrate disaster risk reduction and management education in the school curricula of secondary and tertiary level of education, including the National Service Training Program whether private or public, including formal and nonformal, technical-vocational, indigenous learning, and out-of-school youth courses and programs..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com
URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/03/21/as-disasters-mount-groups-call-on-aquino-to-address-urgent-need-to-prepare-the-country/

0 comments

Blog Archive