Senator Win Gatchalian reiterated the need for local government units to improve their respective disaster preparedness programs as he distributed aid to flood and landslide victims in Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental in Southern Mindanao and Agusan del Sur in Caraga on Saturday.

“Sa gitna ng matinding sakuna na naranasan ng ating mga kababayan sa Mindanao, mahalaga ang ating pagkilos tungo sa mas pangmatagalang paghahanda. Panahon na para taasan ang antas ng kahandaan ng mga LGU upang mapanatili ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan,” Gatchalian said.

The lawmaker personally flew to affected municipalities in Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and Agusan del Sur and distributed a total of 12,800 sacks of rice worth P16 million to flood and landslide victims. The assistance was provided by the Office of the Senator and the local government of Valenzuela.  

Gatchalian’s Senate Bill No. 939, An Act Expanding The Application Of The Local Disaster Risk Reduction And Management Fund, seeks to amend Republic Act 10121 or The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. He hopes that the enactment of the proposed measure would provide LGUs more leeway in implementing projects that would strengthen their disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, and rehabilitation capabilities.

The senator emphasized that disaster-mitigation efforts would be greatly improved if LGUs had the necessary funds to provide local infrastructure projects designed to protect their localities against natural disasters. He added that by enabling LGUs to have their own funds for disaster preparedness, they would be able to fund infrastructure projects designed to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, pay for obligations incurred in funding projects related to disaster preparedness and mitigation, and hire necessary personnel required to implement disaster risk reduction and management programs.