President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Congress were urged by a lawmaker on Saturday to expedite the passage of a proposed bill that seeks to establish permanent evacuation centers rather than use school buildings as shelters for typhoon-stricken victims.

The damage and rapid escalation of the death toll due to landslides and floods in several provinces in Mindanao wrought by severe tropical storm "Paeng" has prompted Deputy Minority Leader France Castro to press Malacanang to classify House Bill 5152, or the Permanent Evacuation Centers in Every City and Municipality Bill, as urgent.

"Many have already died due to Paeng's onslaught, and thousands more have evacuated while some people are still missing especially in Cotabato City, Maguindanao, and North Cotabato. Even their usual makeshift evacuation centers are flooded," Castro stressed.

"Paeng" made landfall on Friday packing winds of 75 kilometers (46 miles) per hour.

The country's search and rescue teams recovered bodies from the mud and water, bringing the death toll from storm-related flooding and landslides to 42, with many more likely still buried.

As if it's not enough

"The Visayas and large parts of Luzon are all affected."

We should also factor in that a strong earthquake hit Northern Luzon again earlier this week," said the teacher solon, who represents the ACT Teachers Partylist in the Lower House.

The proposed measure was first filed by former Rep. Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna in the 16th Congress and has been refiled ever since.

The lower House approved the bill on the third and final reading in the 18th Congress, but it has not been enacted because the Senate failed to do so.

Castro, with the bill's co-authors, Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Arlene Brosas and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, are proposing the establishment of evacuation centers in every city and municipality that would serve as shelters in times of disasters and calamities.

The three members of the progressive Makabayan bloc argued that some school buildings made as evacuation centers during typhoons were sometimes not spared of storm surges.

The legislators pointed out that while schools have historically served as evacuation centers, it was not designed for families since it typically lacks the amenities such as comfort rooms, kitchens, or sleeping areas to lessen the discomfort of families being forced to flee their homes just to save their lives.

The solon, meanwhile, expressed hope that Malacañang, the House, and the Senate would act quickly to approve the proposal and include the funds needed to build these disaster-resilient evacuation centers in the P5.268-trillion 2023 national budget.