Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 10) — In light of the deadly earthquake that rocked Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and Syria, Senator Nancy Binay said the Philippine government needs “convergence” – not a separate agency – for better disaster response.
“Dapat nagko-coordinate sila with each other,” Binay told reporters on Friday. “I think sufficient na yung mga batas pero kung di tama ang pag-implement parang doon tayo nagkakaproblema.”
[Translation: They should coordinate with each other. I think the laws are sufficient but the problem lies with the implementation.]
The senator said she’s not keen on the creation of a new department for such a purpose, as proposed by some of her colleagues.
Senate President Juan Miguel \”Migz\” Zubiri earlier filed a bill creating a Department of Disaster Resilience, while Senators JV Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Grace Poe, and Bong Go have their own versions.
“Doon sa prinesent nila, hindi pa rin ganoon kalinaw yung magiging function ng department,” Binay said.
[Translation: Based on what they have presented, the functions of the new department are still unclear.]
“Kasi ‘di ba ngayon yung Office of Civil Defense under siya ng Department of Defense kasi yung mga equipment na gagamitin for search and rescue is an asset of the defense department. ‘Pag nagcreate ng bagong department hindi naman siya magkakaroon ng sarili niyang equipment so babalik pa rin tayo doon sa coordination,” she added.
[Translation: Right now, the Office of Civil Defense is under the Department of Defense because the equipment for search and rescue are assets of that agency. The new department will not have its own equipment so it all boils down to coordination.]
