Gibo praises PNoy gov't response to 'Pedring'
MANILA, Philippines - Former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro praised national government agencies for responding quickly to the problem of massive floods after Typhoon Pedring hit Central Luzon.
Teodoro, who handled rescue and relief efforts after Tropical Storm Ondoy in 2009, said there has been a lot of improvement in the national government's response to calamities.
"Marami naman silang ginagawa. Sa response, mabilis. Secondly, ang laki ng pondo ng gobyerno ngayon. Sinabi ni [Presidential Assistant for Climate Change Elisea] Gozun, they are putting funds into disaster risk reduction and also capacity-building of national government agencies," he told reporters at the Ateneo de Manila University Professorial Schools at the Rockwell Center.
Teodoro also praised government agencies for improvements on coordinating disaster response and relief efforts. He said that while local government units are the primary responders to disasters, they can also be overwhelmed, which is what happened during Ondoy and Pedring.
"How can the LGUs respond when most of the municipalities are under water? Even the designated evacuation centers were also under water," he said.
The former defense chief, meanwhile, backed calls for a National Land Use Act that would ensure that informal settlers do not live in hazard zones.
"Sa local government ngayon, they have land use planning already. They have zoning ordinances and land use ordinances and geohazard mapping. However, Gozun says this must be national because these disasters transcend local boundaries. Importante ito," he said.
He also urged the national government to start making plans for disaster risk reduction.
"In 30-50 years, mag da-dry up ang Mindanao. Dapat ngayon pa lang pag-usapan na kung saan maglagay ng water catchments at mga dam," he said.