Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has supported the call of Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez for the Senate’s swift passage of House Bill 5989 creating the Department of Disaster Resilience.
“We earnestly urge our counterparts in the Senate to pass their own version so we can subsequently work on the enrolled bill to be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte’s desk for his signature,” said Velasco, the principal sponsor of the bill.
“The Philippines is frequented by typhoons and our country is in the Pacific Ring of Fire, making us vulnerable to earthquakes. A department that deals specifically with disaster response and management is urgently needed,” he said.
The Romualdezes, authors of HB 5989, made the appeal after Congress, on Sept. 22, voted 241 against seven with one abstention to pass the Disaster Resilience Act on third and final reading.
“We appeal to the Senate to expedite the passage of the measure that would institutionalize the cohesive and comprehensive framework for disaster preparedness, prevention and mitigation and response in our country,” the party-list lawmaker said.
“We look forward to collaborating with them on this crucial piece of legislation for the welfare and safety of Filipinos. We are confident that the Senate is one with our goal to pass this bill into law this year.
Velasco said the creation of the DDR would help mitigate the impact of natural disasters.
“The creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience would allow us to be constantly prepared and well-equipped when a natural disaster occurs. This would enable other departments to put all their focus and efforts in helping the country recover from the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic,” he said.