In a significant address during the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Pasay City on October 16, 2024, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. echoed the sentiments of Senator Loren Legarda regarding the urgent need to revisit the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
He elaborated, “Because of changing circumstances, because of experiences in the field, we have been able to identify some gaps that need to be filled, some streamlining that needs to be done. And this is a constant exercise that should happen in most areas of government, but it is critical that it happens in disaster risk reduction in order to optimize and to focus government efforts in all aspects of the topic.”
“Sen. Legarda has underscored that our current disaster risk reduction law was enacted 15 years ago and it is time for a review,” Teodoro stated, emphasizing the importance of aligning legislation with contemporary challenges.
In her earlier remarks, Senator Legarda highlighted the collaboration with Teodoro and his team, expressing hope for a revision of the long-standing law to enhance its relevance.
This as the senator reiterated that now is the time to forge a safer and more inclusive world for all.
“Leaving no one behind must drive the renovation of risk governance. Women, girls, persons with disabilities, and marginalized groups must be at the heart of shaping the post-2030 disaster risk governance framework, ensuring their leadership in building truly resilient and inclusive systems,”Legarda said.
Teodoro acknowledged the vulnerabilities faced by certain sectors and emphasized the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s (NDRRMC) commitment to developing a gender-responsive, data-driven, and inclusive approach to disaster risk management.
He stated, “We have to understand that we have to take into account specific characteristics of local communities which differ, sometimes in one local government unit alone, there are several phenomena which affect these communities.”
Highlighting the government’s advancements in information gathering and analysis, Teodoro noted the challenges of keeping pace with development. He called for the support of various stakeholders, saying, “We opened recently what we termed as the El Nino portal for giving in data, and a secure site in that portal, it’s for the use of LGUs where they can tap national government data for their local planning.”
“We were supposed to convert this into the La Nina portal. However, we have decided in the council to make this a full-time disaster risk reduction portal for a secure site where LGUsand other national agencies can exchange data feedback,” he added.
Teodoro also addressed the public’s perception of local units as primarily political entities, saying, “But what we need to be building here when we talk of localities is the sense of community, familiarity with each other, which we hope will develop conditioned responses when they face one phenomenon. And this is the spirit of community and probably the spirit of what we call ‘bayanihan’ and the spirit of the barangay. That’s something we need to re-instill in some way or another.”
