MANILA, Philippines -- In the wake of the eruption of Iceland’s Grimsvotn Volcano, a Visayan lawmaker urged yesterday the Aquino administration to map out a “cohesive” disaster risk management policy to ensure sustainable development.

Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, who was invited recently by the United Nations’ International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) to facilitate a session on disaster risk reduction in Geneva, Switzerland, pressed for comprehensive global policies and programs to reduce inevitable risks during disasters.

“We cannot achieve development sustainability without seriously investing, both financially and politically, in disaster risk reduction. It should be at the core of socio-economic development on different levels,” he said.

The UNISDR engages assemblies and individual parliamentarians in order to create a politically enabling environment for disaster risk reduction on different levels. It recently launched a global campaign to prepare local government officials in times of disaster.

“Although some challenges remain, the results of these efforts are very encouraging,” Sarmiento noted. (Charissa M. Luci)