Go pushes for passage of Department of Disaster Resilience
Published Jul 29, 2019 03:09 pm
By Mario Casayuran
Neophyte Senator Christopher Lawrence ‘’Bong’’ Go pressed Congress yesterday to pass Senate Bill 205 that seeks to establish “an empowered, highly-specialized, and responsive Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) with clear unity of command.”
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (MALACAÑANG PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go made the appeal after inspecting the earthquake-hit Batanes island last Sunday with President Duterte.
The measure, to be known as “Disaster Resilience Act of 2019,” was filed early this month.
The proposed department will focus on natural disasters and will concentrate on a disaster resilience framework in three key result areas namely Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Preparedness and Response, and ‘Recovery and Building Forward Better’.
“By establishing this department, faster government services in response to calamities and natural disasters will efficiently help alleviate the devastating effects of natural calamities to our Filipino brothers and sisters,” Go said.
Go explained that disaster-related responsibilities are shared among various government agencies and that there is a need for an agency that will be primarily responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive, and disaster-resilient communities.
Go said emergency services must also be improved in areas that are hard to reach such as Batanes.
The senator who had acted as the Special Assistant to President Duterte is also pushing for the creation of a fast and more responsive emergency medical services system nationwide.
He thus filed Senate Bill 394, the "Emergency Medical Services System (EMSS) Act of 2019,’’ seeks to establish a 24-hour emergency hotline for Filipinos nationwide.
This is in support of Executive Order No. 56 which was signed by the President last year, providing for the 911 official nationwide emergency hotline.
Under the bill, local government agencies are required to establish dispatch centers and a unified emergency medical service system, and ensure that there will be an adequate transport system to respond to these emergencies.
As the new chairman of the Committee on Health in the Senate, Go also vowed that he would address the current woes of public hospitals especially in remote areas like Batanes.
He targets to improve and ensure adequate medical equipment, bed capacity, supplies, and medicines in all public hospitals nationwide.
Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go (MALACAÑANG PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Go made the appeal after inspecting the earthquake-hit Batanes island last Sunday with President Duterte.
The measure, to be known as “Disaster Resilience Act of 2019,” was filed early this month.
The proposed department will focus on natural disasters and will concentrate on a disaster resilience framework in three key result areas namely Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster Preparedness and Response, and ‘Recovery and Building Forward Better’.
“By establishing this department, faster government services in response to calamities and natural disasters will efficiently help alleviate the devastating effects of natural calamities to our Filipino brothers and sisters,” Go said.
Go explained that disaster-related responsibilities are shared among various government agencies and that there is a need for an agency that will be primarily responsible for ensuring safe, adaptive, and disaster-resilient communities.
Go said emergency services must also be improved in areas that are hard to reach such as Batanes.
The senator who had acted as the Special Assistant to President Duterte is also pushing for the creation of a fast and more responsive emergency medical services system nationwide.
He thus filed Senate Bill 394, the "Emergency Medical Services System (EMSS) Act of 2019,’’ seeks to establish a 24-hour emergency hotline for Filipinos nationwide.
This is in support of Executive Order No. 56 which was signed by the President last year, providing for the 911 official nationwide emergency hotline.
Under the bill, local government agencies are required to establish dispatch centers and a unified emergency medical service system, and ensure that there will be an adequate transport system to respond to these emergencies.
As the new chairman of the Committee on Health in the Senate, Go also vowed that he would address the current woes of public hospitals especially in remote areas like Batanes.
He targets to improve and ensure adequate medical equipment, bed capacity, supplies, and medicines in all public hospitals nationwide.