As government braces for more typhoons as consequence of climate change, a lawmaker urged authorities to prepare contingency measures against earthquakes in the light of the temblor that hit Indonesia that killed thousands.

Agusan del Sur Representative Rodolfo Ompong Plaza said it is important for government to prepare the country for earthquakes which he said could cause worse damage than the two storms that hit the country

Citing the 2004 Report on the country’s vulnerability to earthquakes by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) experts, Plaza said a magnitude 7.2 earthquake would devastate Metro Manila which could be broken “into four regions with western part isolated by fire and building collapse, the northern and southern areas separated by the same damage and geographical condition, and all road networks running east-west and lying along the fault will be broken.”

He said the existing social and physical conditions of the NCR and the region's urban vulnerability were considered in the study that analyzed earthquake damage based on three earthquake scenario.

“Some 170,000 residential houses will collapse while another 340,000 partly damaged, and about 34,000 people will die with 114,000 more injured; fire will breakout and spread over a thousand hectares wide and this secondary disaster will killl about 18,000 more people while infrastructure and lifelines will be heavily damaged.

This is the worse case scenario for Metro Manila,” Plaza said, quoting the report.

He said JICA experts drew up a 2004 Quake Plan as a contingency measure against possible earthquakes but this was not acted upon by government.

“I wonder why a report as imporant as this is allowed to just gather dust when it is the Philippine government itself that sought the government of Japan for this undertaking. It is the duty of the State to inform the public. This is not discretionary on the part of the State,” Plaza said.

“Citizens have the right to know about risks like this to better prepare for them. Ayaw kong isipin na inaamag itong report dahil pinoprotektahan masyado ng gobyerno ang presyo ng real estate sa NCR,” he added.

Plaza noted that the Metro Manila Council accepted the results of the extensive study and even acknowledged it in MMDA Resolution No. 04-03, which admitted that the metropolis indeed faces high risk should a strong earthquake hit it.

The MMDA, in its resolution, likewise cited the urgency to implement necessary measures to reduce and mitigate quake impact and sought the establishment of mutual aid agreement among LGS in the event of such disaster.

“Ang tanong, nasaan ang mga measures na ito? May urgent certification ba sa mga disaster management bills na pending sa House? The report produced a digital database to support disaster management and land use planning, environmental management, and urban development of Metro Manila. We should not wait for another disaster before we make use of all these data,” Plaza said.