After strong Abra earthquake

THE Senate as a whole will act immediately on the urgent proposal of the majority of the senators urging President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to immediately create a “Department of Disaster Resilience and Emergency Response” after a magnitude 7.3 strong earthquake that hit Abra and damaged other parts of the northern Luzon.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano (Independent) said he will appeal to the Chief Executive to consider the proposal urgent to create this department that will be accountable and should coordinate adequately, especially in this kind of situation.

Cayetano, who manifested this move, urged his colleagues to act “as a whole”, saying this is timely considering the earthquake that really hit many areas and created a lot of damage.

Senate President Miguel “Migz” Zubiri said he will make sure that the Senate will act on this proposal.

He also asked President Marcos Jr. to lead the country in earthquake preparedness by holding an earthquake drill at Malacañang since it is already an “old structure”.

Sen. Nancy Binay said Filipinos should pray and help each other in these trying times as she urged all local officials to ensure that their infrastructures and buildings are regularly checked for safety purposes.

Sen. Imee Marcos maintained the need to remain “vigilant” with the northern part of the country hardly hit by a 7.3 earthquake, particularly Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Vigan, Pangasinan, Laoag City, and neighboring areas like Sarrat, Apayao, and Baguio City.

The senator from Ilocos said she will definitely visit the areas as well as his son Rep. Matthew Marcos Manotoc, and President Marcos Jr., to know exactly the situations in those areas affected by the earthquake.

“As we pray for the safety of our people, especially in the north where the earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, we urge our local executives, PNP [Philippine National Police], NDRRMC [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council], and others to remain vigilant as aftershocks and storm surges or tsunamis are expected to follow. If necessary, preventive evacuation of coastal villages and landslide-prone zones should be undertaken swiftly,” Sen. Marcos said.

She also confirmed that damages have been reported to her office, such as the ancient bell towers and churches, as well as homes, vehicles, and other property.

“We will continue to monitor and assist all those in the area. Nasira ang mga antique belltower ng Bantay at Laoag, pati simbahan sa Sarrat at iba pa. Maging ang heritage houses, yung iba natumba, ganundin infrastructures kabilang ang Kennon (Road), Paraiso, Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte at Apayao. Brownout na [rin] dahil napinsala rin ang electrical transformers at transmission lines,” Marcos added.

According to Phivolcs or Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the magnitude 7.3 quake occurred at 8:43 a.m. July 27 with its epicenter in Abra and CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region).

Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. for his part asked the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to immediately deploy personnel to check the integrity of infrastructure in the areas affected.

According to Revilla, safety is the most “critical” concern now.

“We need to ensure the integrity of our infrastructure – bridges, houses, and buildings including schools and hospitals,” Revilla, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Works, said.

The senator from Cavite stressed the responsibility of the DPWH to assure the public that every structure is safe and will not fail due to the earthquake.

The quake was felt in parts of Luzon, including areas in Metro Manila, on Wednesday.

Sen. Robin Padilla said it is a “wake-up” call to strengthen the government’s disaster resilience and response mechanism, especially at the local level.

Padilla also said the Medical Reserve Corps and mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) mentioned by President Marcos Jr. in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday would greatly help in this regard.

“Siguro ang palakasin muna natin kasi meron tayong mga regional disaster (response), na nandiyan na sila. Palakasin natin sila, bigyan ng pondo. Ang gusto ko lang imungkahi palagi, bigyan natin ng kalayaan ang regional na magdesisyon sa sarili nila. Kasi ang pagresponde depende kung sinong teritoryo kung sino taga doon mas alam nila,” said Padilla, who was in his office when the quake hit.

Padilla, who was at the Senate premise when the earthquake happened, immediately followed the Senate officials’ advice to evacuate immediately.

“Nakita ko ang tuwalya gumaganun sabi ko lumilindol. Sinabi ko sa kasama ko lumilindol ha, walang magpa-panic,” Padilla told reporters.

Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito stressed the need for a Department of Disaster Resilience, citing that the Philippines is within the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, and therefore we are prone to earthquakes.

Sen. Lito Lapid expressed sadness to the people of the Ilocos and Cordillera Region and other neighboring provinces affected by the earthquake.

“Patuloy po nating ipagdasal ang kaligtasan ng lahat ng mga apektado. Hinihimok ko rin ang ating mga kasama sa local at national government na magsagawa ng agarang inspection sa mga imprastruktura upang masiguro na ligtas ang lahat. I also urge the national government to provide all possible assistance to those adversely affected by the earthquake,” Lapid said on his Twitter account.