HINIMOK ni Senador Alan Peter Cayetano ang gobyerno na magtatag ng Emergency Response Department (ERD) upang palakasin ang katatagan ng bansa laban sa lumalalang banta ng extreme weather events dulot ng climate change.
Ipinawanagan ito ng senador matapos ang walang tigil na pag-ulan na dala ng bagyong Carina noong July 24 na naminsala sa buong Luzon at nagdulot ng malawakang pagbaha sa Metro Manila at mga kalapit na lalawigan.
“We have to seriously address this ‘new normal’ of extreme weather in the country. Consider ‘Carina’ which is like a repeat of ‘Ondoy’ from 15 years ago -– the damage wrought has been so severe that the National Capital Region and neighboring provinces have had to declare a state of calamity,” wika ni Cayetano nitong July 25, 2024.
“We have to seriously consider establishing an Emergency Response Department or we’ll leave our kababayan defenseless in the face of climate change,” dagdag niya.
Binanggit din ni Cayetano ang iba pang mga kalamidad tulad ng biglaang phreatic eruption ng Bulkang Mayon simula noong July 18. Nananatili sa Alert level 1 ang bulkan.
Dati na niyang binigyang-diin ang pangangailangan ng aksyon ng gobyerno para mapahusay ang disaster resilience. Aniya, mataas ang vulnerability ng Pilipinas sa mga natural na kalamidad at epekto sa pagbabago ng klima.
Sa paghahain ng Senate Bill No. 66 o ang ERD Act, binanggit ni Cayetano ang 2021 World Risk Report kung saan ipinakita ang Pilipinas sa ika-walo sa 181 na bansa sa usapin ng panganib sa kalamidad.
“Manila has also been ranked by the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) as the most vulnerable of the world’s 20 ‘high growth cities’ to the effects of climate change,” sulat niya sa explanatory bill ng panukala.
Habang maraming magagaling na tao ang nagtatrabaho sa National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), sinabi ni Cayetano na panahon na para magkaroon ng “focused, single-minded, specialized department to upgrade the government’s capacity to respond to disasters in an effective and speedy manner.”
Kapag naisabatas, maglilikha ang ERD Act ng Humanitarian Emergency Assistance at Disaster Funding na may pondong P25 bilyon taun-taon. Layon nitong mabilis na matugunan ang mga hindi inaasahang paggasta na nagmumula sa mga natural na kalamidad.
Iminumungkahi din na ang ERD ay sasaklaw sa mga espesyal na kawanihan tulad ng Hazard Education at Risk Mitigation, Disaster Preparedness, Humanitarian Emergency Relief Operations, at Administration and Finance.
“We may not be able to stop disasters but we can empower ourselves with knowledge, training, education, equipment, tools, and the right infrastructure to cope with disasters so many lives would not be lost and there would be less devastation,” sabi ni Cayetano.
“A window of opportunity exists to sow seeds of preparedness in order to reap resilience to disasters,” dagdag niya.
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