DAVAO CITY — An official of the Department of Interior and Local Government underscored that the policy of the government is to attain zero casualty in any calamity.

Alex Roldan, director of the DILG XI, said even a minimal number of casualties is not an option for government whenever a disaster happens.

He said it remains a responsibility of the government to make sure that communities are safe during the occurrence of disasters.

“We may have partners in the private sector, but most often, the bulk of the responsibilities in responding to distress residents is on the government. The focus of the DILG during disasters is more on the preventive aspect,” Roldan added.

Roldan said it is high time for the agency to tell municipal legislative councils not to approve relocation sites on danger zones.

“It is now the task of the DILG to reach out to the legislative councils to stop issuing housing permits on flood-landslide-prone areas which are considered red on the hazard maps,” he stressed.

Roldan hopes that the Operation: Listo will move up to the next level of getting more support from all sectors.

He highlighted the role of the police, military and the provincial and municipal disaster risk reduction and management offices in responding to disasters, especially with the improvement of their capabilities like the use of satellite images and patterns.

“I hope the enhanced capabilities will give us strength as we provide assistance to the communities, which are confronted with the changing weather condition. I hope we can come up with strategies and plans on how we are going to mobilize all sectors in the community,” Roldan said.

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