Camarines Sur Representative LRay Villafuerte has welcomed the passage by the House of Representatives of a measure paving the way for the construction of permanent evacuation centers across the country, especially in his disaster-prone home region of Bicol.
Villafuerte said building these evacuation centers will avoid the situation wherein families dislocated because of natural calamities become stuck in public schools or other temporary shelters without adequate facilities for months after their dislocation.
Villafuerte said the construction of climate-resilient evacuation centers should top the concerns of the would-be Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), so the government could best achieve its zero-casualty goal as this office and other concerned government agencies could fully implement preemptive evacuation, especially of people in coastal and mountainous communities.
A former governor, Villafuerte has long called for the construction of permanent evacuation centers.
He last renewed this call following the triple onslaught that CamSur and other Bicol provinces underwent because of the three strong typhoons that struck mainly Luzon in the last quarter of 2020.
“On top of ensuring that permanent evacuation centers be equipped with adequate facilities, their construction should also be climate resilient, “ Villafuerte said.
Under House Bill No 8990, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be in charge of building the evacuation sites, while local city and municipal governments shall be responsible for running and maintaining the centers. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will serve as the lead agency.
Villafuerte has called for the construction of permanent evacuation centers for calamity victims as early as two years ago, following the devastation wrought in Luzon in September 2018 of supertyphoon Ompong, which killed at least 65 people and sent over 100,000 people fleeing to evacuation sites.
Villafuerte principally authored the proposed DDR bill that the House passed in September 2020.
He said the construction of climate-resilient evacuation centers should top the concerns of the would-be Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), so the government could best achieve its zero-casualty goal as this office and other concerned government agencies could fully implement preemptive evacuation, especially of people in coastal and mountainous communities.
He principally authored the proposed DDR bill that the House passed in September 2020.