SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go renewed his call for the passage of his proposed measure which will mandate the establishment of an evacuation center in every municipality, city and province throughout the country and shall also provide basic needs and assistance to all evacuees.

During an ambush interview after personally providing aid to fire victims in Bacoor City, Cavite on Sunday, August 14, Go said that he has refiled the bill in the 19th Congress as one of his priority measures to address the vulnerability of the Philippines to the impacts of climate change and other natural or human-induced disasters.

“Meron na po akong nai-file sa Senado. Itong mandatory evacuation center. Itong Senate Bill 193. Na-i-file ko po noong July. Alam n’yo, kailangan po natin ng maaayos na evacuation center, malilinis na evacuation center sa mga siyudad, probinsya at munisipyo,” said Go.

“Tignan n’yo po ngayon, eh, kung wala silang maayos na evacuation center, nagagamit po ang eskwelahan. Eh, kung gagamitin na po ito sa pagbubukas ng eskwela, masasakripisyo po ang pag-aaral kung gagamitin po as evacuation center,” he added.

Under the proposed “Mandatory Evacuation Center Act of 2022”, the construction and maintenance of evacuation centers in all localities shall be implemented by a coordinated Department of Public Works and Highways, the local government units concerned, and other line agencies.

The bill also provides the minimum requirements for every evacuation center, including the location, structural or building capacity, and amenities and accessibility.

In particular, the proposed mandatory evacuation centers shall be constructed and designed to withstand super typhoons or wind speeds of at least 300 kilometers per hour and seismic activity of at least 8.0 magnitude.

“Dapat magkaroon tayo ng maayos, malinis na evacuation center kung saan po pwedeng makapagpahinga ang mga bata, may maayos na sanitation, comfort room, at komportableng higaan po pansamantala bago sila makauwi sa kanilang tirahan,” said Go.

Aside from the measure, Go shared that he also filed SBN 188 which seeks to establish a Department of Disaster Resilience, a highly specialized agency that will be tasked with ensuring adaptive, disaster-resilient and safe communities; and SBN 192 which provides for the development of a housing and social protection program that will provide disaster victims better and more affordable access to the formal housing market through the provision of rental subsidies by the government.

“Meron din po akong nai-file sa Senado, itong Rental Subsidy Bill kung saan bibigyan sila ng kalahating halaga ng renta na habang hindi pa sila nakakauwi sa kanilang mga pamamahay. […] Sana po ay maisabatas po ito dahil mahirap nga pong masunugan,” said Go.

“At Department of Disaster Resilience, a cabinet secretary-level (department) kung saan po ang mamumuno ng departamento ay isang secretary para sa maayos na koordinasyon. Pag-alis ng bagyo, restoration of normalcy, rehabilitation efforts. Bago pa dumating ang mga bagyo, preposition agad ng mga pagkain, pakikipag-coordinate agad sa mga LGUs natin,” he added.

Moreover, Go assured that he will continue pushing for more people-centered and service-oriented legislation and measures that will promote national resilience and adaptability, while ensuring non-stop public service delivery to those who need government attention the most.

“I filed my first 20 bills for the 19th Congress. Ang iba ay nai-refile ko na po mula sa 18th Congress. Ang aking mga nai-file po ay upang maging more resilient tayo… ang overall objective ng mga bill na ito is to be more resilient and more adaptable,” said Go.

“Pero ang trabaho ng isang senador, not only limited sa pagpa-file ng bill o ng batas. Kasama sa trabaho po namin ay constituency (services) at representation… kaya po ako nandirito para tumulong po sa abot ng aking makakaya — dahil mahal ko po ang aking kapwa Pilipino,” he ended.