The House of Representatives on Thursday approved on third and final reading a bill establishing evacuation centers in every city and municipality in the country.
The chamber unanimously approved House Bill 8990, entitled “An Act Establishing Evacuation Centers in Every City and Municipality, and Appropriating Funds Therefor.”
The bill’s principal author, Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, expressed optimism that the bill’s final approval at the lower house will move the Senate to pass a parallel measure.
“The establishment of evacuation centers in every city and municipality throughout the county has never been more important than it is today,” said Tan, chairperson of the House health committee.
The bill, she said, envisions to provide immediate and temporary accommodation for people who have been evacuated or displaced from their homes due to emergency events, such as typhoons, floods, storm surges, drought, and other severe climate disturbances, as well as fire.
“It also includes the outbreak of illnesses and diseases that presents imminent danger to life and property, such as the present COVID-19 pandemic,” the bill stated.
Tan said the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters underscores the need for the government to devise long-term response to this “unpleasant situation” by establishing evacuation centers throughout the country consistent with the identified outcomes of the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Plan (NDRRMP), particularly in providing adequate temporary shelters.
“It seeks to establish standard-based relief shelters and sites throughout the country. It addresses the need to prioritize vulnerable individuals and groups. Congestion in most evacuation centers usually puts at risk senior citizens, the disabled, children and pregnant women who are more vulnerable to diseases,” Tan said.
Moreover, the proposal can minimize the loss of lives by bringing the evacuation centers nearer to the populace and at the most accessible and safe areas, she said.
The bill provides for the minimum requirements for every evacuation center which shall cover the location, structure, as well as amenities and accessibility. The local governments concerned shall be primarily responsible for the operation, supervision, and management of the evacuation centers.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), on the other hand, shall be the lead agency. Priority will be given to those areas of the country that are (a) identified as disaster prone; (b) financially incapable to establish their own evacuation centers; and (c) do not have existing evacuation centers of their own.