NDRRMC targets more durable, resilient evacuation centers

The government is considering the establishment of more durable and resilient evacuation centers nationwide as proposed by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to further enhance the country's evacuation system.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who also chairs the NDRRMC, convened the council's member agencies in a third-quarter meeting in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday night.

Teodoro said the council should focus on strengthening the disaster risk reduction and management as well as the adoption of "best practices for public interest."

"One of the highlights of the discussion was the status and enhanced design of evacuation centers. It can be recalled that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the importance of building resilient evacuation centers in his last State of the Nation Address to ensure the safety of the public in times of emergency," the NDRRMC said in a statement released on Friday.

The Office of Civil Defense and the Department of Public Works and Highways are looking into the proposal to improve the design of evacuation centers, including the prioritization mechanism through risk-based assessments.

During the meeting, the council members also tackled considerations and updates on location and site suitability, structural and building capacity, and minimum standards on design and conceptual sketches.

The NDRRMC noted that the proposed improved design of the evacuation center is still subject to finalization by concerned government agencies.

The council also tackled and approved amendments to NDRRMC Memorandum Circular No. 64, s. 2021 or the Guidelines on the Accreditation and Protection of Community Disaster Volunteers; Memorandum Circular on the Guidelines on Mainstreaming DRRM in Health in Local Development; and the proposed revision on Memorandum Circular no. 110, s.2021 or the Revised Guidelines on the Administration of the NDRRM Fund.

The enhanced guidelines tackled during the meeting will be disseminated to concerned stakeholders for implementation.

A report from Climate Change Knowledge Portal for Development Practitioners and Policy Makers showed that some 19 to 20 typhoons enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility yearly, with 7-9 making landfall.

Hence, several lawmakers pushed for the legislation of measures that aim to enhance the country's evacuation system.

Senate Bill 1652, or An Act establishing evacuation centers nationwide, filed by Senator Raffy Tulfo, seeks the establishment of evacuation centers in 146 cities and 1,488 municipalities nationwide.

Under the proposed measure, these evacuation centers must have basic facilities, accessible locations, and adequate emergency supplies, such as water, medicine, and relief goods considering that the Philippines is one of the most typhoon-prone countries in the world.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also filed SB 940, or the Evacuation Center Act", which seeks to establish evacuation centers in all cities nationwide.

SB 940 provides that each location for every evacuation center shall be determined by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, in close coordination with the local government units concerned, and must be centrally located in the community.

It must also be at a safe distance from large trees and structures with hazardous materials, must be near a health facility, must be located on geotechnically stable land, and must not be located near military base camps and camps of insurgent groups.