BORONGAN, Eastern Samar, Philippines — Lawmakers in the Visayas Saturday urgently called for a review of the Government’s disaster preparedness program, particularly citing the need to implement mitigating measures following the disastrous 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that slammed Japan, heavily damaging the world’s third largest economy’s northeast Pacific coast area.

“We really have to review our disaster preparedness,” urged Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, who underlined that “mitigating measures must be put in place immediately.”

Eastern Samar was among the 19 provinces put under Tsunami Alert Level 2 by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), along with Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Quezon, Aurora, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur.
For his part, Cebu Rep. Luigi R. Quisumbing also asked government bodies tasked to oversee the country’s disaster mitigating initiatives to strengthen their mandate, noting that developed countries, like Japan are not spared from natural catastrophes.

"Our disaster management bodies need to be vigilant and ready to meet calamities,” Quisumbing said. “With these recent natural disasters, we cannot take for granted the value of preparedness.”

The Cebu solon even stressed that disaster preparedness should start at the grassroots level. “In Cebu’s 6th district's coastal barangays, we will be conducting seminars to help our constituents in the mitigation of natural calamities and its effects," he informed.

Quisumbing pushed for the effective implementation of the one-year-old Climate Change Act to boost the country’s capability to deal with threats posed by climate change.

He said the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) should proactively and urgently map out disaster risk reduction and management measures in anticipation of disasters related to and aggravated by climate change.

Quisumbing also cited the need for the national government, its pertinent agencies and local government units (LGUs) to effectively implement the Climate Change Act or Republic Act 9729, which was signed by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on October 23, 2009.

The landmark legislation, which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 2583 and House Bill No. 5982, seeks to institutionalize government response to climate change as well as to attract financial and technical assistance from the foreign community to fund adaptation and disaster risk reduction initiatives.

The law has resulted in the creation of the Climate Change Commission, which is an independent, autonomous policymaking body tasked to coordinate, monitor and evaluate programs and action plans to address climate change.

"We have entered the season of climate-induced disasters,” said Quisumbing. “The Climate Change Commission needs to coordinate with appropriate agencies not only with respect to disaster risk reduction and management plans but also for purposes of identifying international as well as domestic sources of funds to finance disaster risk reduction and management initiatives particularly in the local level.”

He has filed House Resolution 563 urging the House Committee on National Defense to conduct an inquiry into the implementation of the Act, citing the need to have a predictable, united and continuous financing for climate change-related disaster risk reduction and management initiatives.