Marcos met with government agencies related to disaster response in a bid to make the government more responsive to people’s needs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.
Earlier, the President said he wanted the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to be placed under the Office of the President for quicker and centralize response in times of disaster.
Marcos said it will also cut the red tape as it will avoid the circuitous bureaucratic process and give agencies the authority to respond quickly and facilitate the immediate release of government funds.
He suggested for the government agencies to study the proposal, as he pushed for the creation of a team that will immediately work every time there is an emergency or a disaster.
“So that kind of authority and you can… basta’t pag disaster, within a day or two, hopefully within a day, pasok na sila and they’ll see what’s going on and then report back to us and start with the assessment,” Marcos said.
“And pagka they assess on the ground, they can already start calling the other agencies…‘Yun lang habol ko eh. ‘Yung mabilis, para mas mabilis,” he added.
Marcos said the idea is to set up a team composed of different agencies, including the military, who will go to the disaster area, make an assessment and come up with a report.
He said the report will be the basis for the conduct of post disaster operations.
Marcos said repair and reconstruction of damaged infrastructure must start immediately.
During the meeting, details of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund were presented to the President by the Office of Civil Defense, the implementing arm of the NDRRMC. (SunStar Philippines)