Former Bayan Muna congressman Carlos Isagani Zarate described as long overdue but still welcomed the signing into law of the Permanent Evacuation Centers Act, a measure that the progressive Makabayan bloc has championed since the 16th Congress, calling it a vital step towards disaster preparedness and climate resilience.
“After more than a decade of persistent advocacy by Bayan Muna, we finally have a law mandating the establishment of permanent, well-equipped evacuation centers in every municipality and city,” Zarate said.
In filing House Bill 3648 on December 19, 2013 as an aftermath of the Superstorm Yolanda, Bayan Muna said:
“It is a fact we have to accept and live by that climate change has transformed natural calamities into more disastrous and more deadly types.Thus we have to start adjusting to this reality and take positive steps to mitigate,to the least possible,effects of disasters that might be even worse than we could imagine.
Nobody ever thought that the strong winds released by typhoon Yolanda would reach sustained winds of up to a record-breaking 315 kph. Before Yolanda, the world strongest typhoon recorded by far was Hurricane Camille in 1969 with 305 kph of sustained winds. Coupled by a storm surge that brought waters rising up to almost 20 feet high, nobody among the victims ever imagined that it would be like the more familiar tsunami that inundated everything and literally flattened their communities the moment it subsided.
Some school buildings which were made as evacuation centers during the pre-emptive evacuation in some areas in Visayas for typhoon Yolanda were also not spared because of the misinformation of a storm surge.Numerous evacuees actually died in the said school buildings.”
“Matagal na naming isinusulong ito dahil hindi na dapat ginagamit ang mga paaralan, covered courts at iba pang non-resilient structures bilang evacuation centers na hindi rin ligtas at walang sapat na mga facilities para sa ating mga kababayan,” Zarate added. .
The former lawmaker emphasized that while the law’s passage is welcome, its implementation must be closely monitored to ensure that the “facilities will be built according to standards, in strategic locations and will not become subject to the caprices of patronage politics.”
“Mahalagang matiyak na ang mga evacuation centers na ito ay disaster-resilient at may sapat na facilities para sa mga pamilyang nasa evacuation. Hindi pwedeng bara-bara ang pagtatayo nito at depende sa gusto ng mga politiko dahil buhay ng ating mga mamamayan ang nakasalalay dito,” he stressed.
Zarate also called for a comprehensive review of environmental policies, pointing out that the need for evacuation centers stems from deeper issues.
“While we welcome this development, we must address the root causes of these disasters. Kailangang busisiin ang epekto ng mining, logging, at hindi planadong urban development na nagpapalala sa mga sakuna. These evacuation centers, while necessary, should go hand in hand with genuine environmental protection and climate action, and justice” Zarate concluded.#
