Monday, August 13, 2018
DBM studies prospect of reenacted 2019 budget
By Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
Reporter
THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has raised the possibility of having a reenacted budget for 2019 in order to break the impasse with lawmakers on a new spending plan that will allocate funds only for projects or tasks that can be completed within next year.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that the government cannot submit another version of the 2019 budget that is “obligation-based” — or with funding good for more than a year — which has been the practice to this year.
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“We have already submitted (the budget). So they have two options: to not to pass the budget or pass with amendments. We cannot change it,” Mr. Diokno said in a phone interview on Sunday when asked whether his department can go back to square one.
The following year’s budget has always been a priority piece of legislation for any administration. The proposed P3.757-trillion 2019 “cash-based” budget — which takes into consideration implementing departments’ and agencies’ limited capacity to spend — is slightly less than the P3.767-trillion obligation-based budget for 2018.
The government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been clearing bottlenecks and cracking the whip on implementing offices to spend, resulting lately in the state finally hitting expenditure targets. Underspending had been a key weakness of the past administration, which had focused on improving revenues while checking spending, earning investment-grade credit rating for the Philippines.
“This week, we’ll explore our options. One option is a reenacted budget,” Mr. Diokno said, referring to a rollover of 2018’s amount.
Critics have blamed budget reenactment in the past for irregularities, since — among others — such measures provide funding even for projects that have been completed.
“We’re looking at the implications, kasi kung marami pa naman disbursed or unimplemented projects na obligated but unimplemented… baka naman hindi mag-suffer ‘yung budget (because if there are still many unimplemented projects or projects whose budgets have not yet been disbursed… spending may not suffer),” Mr. Diokno explained.
“I’m looking at the flexibility of the reenacted projects,” he added.
“To me, ang gut feel ko walang (there is no) change, kasi nga marami pang undisbursed ‘yung 2017 and 2018 (precisely because there are funds that had not been disbursed in 2017 and 2018). So we will study to really digest.”
Lawmakers of both chambers, however, downplayed the possibility of a reenacted 2019 budget, saying the yearend target for enactment of a new budget should be met and that the DBM — and the Development Budget Coordinating Committee which it forms with the Finance department, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Office of the President and the central bank — has enough time to make adjustments.
Due to budget cuts for the Health, Education and Public Works departments under the proposed cash-based system, the House of Representatives Appropriations committee, chaired by Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of the first district of Davao City — Mr. Duterte’s hometown — has suspended budget hearings for now.
It has also circulated a resolution among House members to recall House Bill No. 7302 from the Senate which adopts the cash-based system and was authored by Mr. Nograles and House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr., among others. The House approved it in March.
Mr. Nograles sought to downplay the possibility of a reenacted budget for next year, saying there is still time to overhaul the 2019 proposal.
“When we crafted this budget schedule, we were under the assumption that we would be able to pass a 2019 General Appropriations Act by Nov. 30… (but) with this adjustment, okay lang, it’s still manageable,” Mr. Nograles said in an interview over radio station DzBB on Sunday.
“It will still be signed before December, before Christmas,” he added.
“I don’t think anybody should even discuss or think about the reenacted budget. Wala pa naman tayo d’yan (We’re not at that point yet).”
He told reporters in a mobile phone message on Saturday that “to be consistent with the position of the House to oppose cash-based budgeting, and since we will revert to obligation-based budgeting, we will give time to DBCC to make the necessary changes.”
Mr. Nograles said he was not opposed to a cash-based system per se.
“I’m saying cash-based is good; cash-based as a concept is fine…but maybe it is not the right time,” he said, noting that the new system imposes “fiscal discipline” across state offices.
“What we’re saying is baka we’re doing too many reforms too soon, hindi naka-adjust ang sistema.”
Senate finance committee chairman Senator Loren B. Legarda told reporters via text that the Senate “will continue with the budget hearings as scheduled”.
“I am confident that the House will resolve these concerns in due time.”
For Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, “It is the prerogative of the House to suspend hearings on the 2019 national budget.”
“We can only hope that after this pause, they can fast-forward their review so that the budget will arrive in the Senate as scheduled and will not jeopardize the traditional timetable of an enacted budget by the end of the year…,” Mr. Recto said.
“The Senate must continue with its parallel hearings on the 2019 budget.” — with Camille A. Aguinaldo and Charmaine A. Tadalan
http://www.bworldonline.com/dbm-studies-prospect-of-reenacted-2019-budget/
Reporter
THE DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) has raised the possibility of having a reenacted budget for 2019 in order to break the impasse with lawmakers on a new spending plan that will allocate funds only for projects or tasks that can be completed within next year.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that the government cannot submit another version of the 2019 budget that is “obligation-based” — or with funding good for more than a year — which has been the practice to this year.
–– ADVERTISEMENT ––
“We have already submitted (the budget). So they have two options: to not to pass the budget or pass with amendments. We cannot change it,” Mr. Diokno said in a phone interview on Sunday when asked whether his department can go back to square one.
The following year’s budget has always been a priority piece of legislation for any administration. The proposed P3.757-trillion 2019 “cash-based” budget — which takes into consideration implementing departments’ and agencies’ limited capacity to spend — is slightly less than the P3.767-trillion obligation-based budget for 2018.
The government of President Rodrigo R. Duterte has been clearing bottlenecks and cracking the whip on implementing offices to spend, resulting lately in the state finally hitting expenditure targets. Underspending had been a key weakness of the past administration, which had focused on improving revenues while checking spending, earning investment-grade credit rating for the Philippines.
“This week, we’ll explore our options. One option is a reenacted budget,” Mr. Diokno said, referring to a rollover of 2018’s amount.
Critics have blamed budget reenactment in the past for irregularities, since — among others — such measures provide funding even for projects that have been completed.
“We’re looking at the implications, kasi kung marami pa naman disbursed or unimplemented projects na obligated but unimplemented… baka naman hindi mag-suffer ‘yung budget (because if there are still many unimplemented projects or projects whose budgets have not yet been disbursed… spending may not suffer),” Mr. Diokno explained.
“I’m looking at the flexibility of the reenacted projects,” he added.
“To me, ang gut feel ko walang (there is no) change, kasi nga marami pang undisbursed ‘yung 2017 and 2018 (precisely because there are funds that had not been disbursed in 2017 and 2018). So we will study to really digest.”
Lawmakers of both chambers, however, downplayed the possibility of a reenacted 2019 budget, saying the yearend target for enactment of a new budget should be met and that the DBM — and the Development Budget Coordinating Committee which it forms with the Finance department, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Office of the President and the central bank — has enough time to make adjustments.
Due to budget cuts for the Health, Education and Public Works departments under the proposed cash-based system, the House of Representatives Appropriations committee, chaired by Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles of the first district of Davao City — Mr. Duterte’s hometown — has suspended budget hearings for now.
It has also circulated a resolution among House members to recall House Bill No. 7302 from the Senate which adopts the cash-based system and was authored by Mr. Nograles and House Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya, Jr., among others. The House approved it in March.
Mr. Nograles sought to downplay the possibility of a reenacted budget for next year, saying there is still time to overhaul the 2019 proposal.
“When we crafted this budget schedule, we were under the assumption that we would be able to pass a 2019 General Appropriations Act by Nov. 30… (but) with this adjustment, okay lang, it’s still manageable,” Mr. Nograles said in an interview over radio station DzBB on Sunday.
“It will still be signed before December, before Christmas,” he added.
“I don’t think anybody should even discuss or think about the reenacted budget. Wala pa naman tayo d’yan (We’re not at that point yet).”
He told reporters in a mobile phone message on Saturday that “to be consistent with the position of the House to oppose cash-based budgeting, and since we will revert to obligation-based budgeting, we will give time to DBCC to make the necessary changes.”
Mr. Nograles said he was not opposed to a cash-based system per se.
“I’m saying cash-based is good; cash-based as a concept is fine…but maybe it is not the right time,” he said, noting that the new system imposes “fiscal discipline” across state offices.
“What we’re saying is baka we’re doing too many reforms too soon, hindi naka-adjust ang sistema.”
Senate finance committee chairman Senator Loren B. Legarda told reporters via text that the Senate “will continue with the budget hearings as scheduled”.
“I am confident that the House will resolve these concerns in due time.”
For Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto, “It is the prerogative of the House to suspend hearings on the 2019 national budget.”
“We can only hope that after this pause, they can fast-forward their review so that the budget will arrive in the Senate as scheduled and will not jeopardize the traditional timetable of an enacted budget by the end of the year…,” Mr. Recto said.
“The Senate must continue with its parallel hearings on the 2019 budget.” — with Camille A. Aguinaldo and Charmaine A. Tadalan
http://www.bworldonline.com/dbm-studies-prospect-of-reenacted-2019-budget/
Max’s Group to continue expanding in provinces
By Arra B. Francia, Reporter
MAX’S GROUP, Inc. (MGI) is following the expansion of mall operators in the provinces to further grow its brands, citing the potential to enter untapped markets in the regions.
“There’s a lot of competition in Metro Manila, and there’s a lot of untapped markets in Visayas and Mindanao and wala pa kami dun. That’s why the more we try to drive our business to regions so that they can feel our presence already,” MGI President and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Trota told reporters at the sidelines of the 25th National Retailers’ Conference in Pasay City last Thursday.
“A lot of the retailers are also going there,” Mr. Trota added, referring to the SM and Ayala groups which have mapped out their expansion to the provinces.
The listed casual dining restaurant operator has scheduled to open 50 more stores before the end of the year, located mostly in Luzon and Visayas, with two in Mindanao.
Overseas, MGI will open around six to eight stores in the Middle East and the United States.
The new stores will carry different brands under MGI such as Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Teriyaki Boy, and Dencio’s.
MGI has already opened 21 new stores in the first six months of 2018, bringing its total store count to 678 branches by end-June. Of this, 54 are located across several sites in North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
The company committed to spend P500 million in capital expenditures this year, less than half of which has already been used during the first semester.
“Most of it (the store openings) will happen on third and fourth quarter,” Mr. Trota said.
MGI grew its net income by 34% to P208.3 million in the second quarter of 2018, on the back of an 11% increase in systemwide sales to P4.9 billion during the period.
On a six-month basis, MGI’s net income was flat at P332 million, due to rising costs of raw materials. Systemwide sales meanwhile expanded by 12% to P9.3 billion for the January to June period.
The company has been implementing initiatives to have more efficient operations during the last semester through the consolidation of some subsidiaries. Mr. Trota said they have now completed the program.
“We’re done for the year, that’s just part of streamlining our operations, that’s where we get additional savings,” he explained.
http://www.bworldonline.com/maxs-group-to-continue-expanding-in-provinces/
MAX’S GROUP, Inc. (MGI) is following the expansion of mall operators in the provinces to further grow its brands, citing the potential to enter untapped markets in the regions.
“There’s a lot of competition in Metro Manila, and there’s a lot of untapped markets in Visayas and Mindanao and wala pa kami dun. That’s why the more we try to drive our business to regions so that they can feel our presence already,” MGI President and Chief Executive Officer Robert F. Trota told reporters at the sidelines of the 25th National Retailers’ Conference in Pasay City last Thursday.
“A lot of the retailers are also going there,” Mr. Trota added, referring to the SM and Ayala groups which have mapped out their expansion to the provinces.
The listed casual dining restaurant operator has scheduled to open 50 more stores before the end of the year, located mostly in Luzon and Visayas, with two in Mindanao.
Overseas, MGI will open around six to eight stores in the Middle East and the United States.
The new stores will carry different brands under MGI such as Max’s Restaurant, Pancake House, Yellow Cab Pizza, Krispy Kreme, Jamba Juice, Teriyaki Boy, and Dencio’s.
MGI has already opened 21 new stores in the first six months of 2018, bringing its total store count to 678 branches by end-June. Of this, 54 are located across several sites in North America, the Middle East, and Asia.
The company committed to spend P500 million in capital expenditures this year, less than half of which has already been used during the first semester.
“Most of it (the store openings) will happen on third and fourth quarter,” Mr. Trota said.
MGI grew its net income by 34% to P208.3 million in the second quarter of 2018, on the back of an 11% increase in systemwide sales to P4.9 billion during the period.
On a six-month basis, MGI’s net income was flat at P332 million, due to rising costs of raw materials. Systemwide sales meanwhile expanded by 12% to P9.3 billion for the January to June period.
The company has been implementing initiatives to have more efficient operations during the last semester through the consolidation of some subsidiaries. Mr. Trota said they have now completed the program.
“We’re done for the year, that’s just part of streamlining our operations, that’s where we get additional savings,” he explained.
http://www.bworldonline.com/maxs-group-to-continue-expanding-in-provinces/
OPAPP, senators back autonomy in Cordillera
Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus G. Dureza urged the people of the Cordilleras to “continue to make noise” in order to get the attention they need for the creation of the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera (ARC).
Speaking at a forum in Manila with members of the Senate as well as leaders of the Cordilleras last Friday, Dureza said the recent passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) can help accelerate the fulfillment of the aspirations of the Cordillerans.
“Let your presence be known and I am sure you will not be ignored because it is your right under the Constitution to have your own Autonomous Region of the Cordilleras,” he said.
The forum was organized to drumbeat national awareness and fast-track the passage of House Bill 5343 and Senate Bill 1678 which seek to establish the ARC.
Speaking to the group, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said the people of the Cordilleras should “anticipate that the bill will be passed.”
“Let us really work on this and in the meantime, let’s conduct a political action at ihanda na natin yung (and let us get ready with the) support mechanism on the ground,” he said.
For his part, Senator JV Ejercito gave assurance that the Senate supports the passage of the law giving autonomy to the Cordilleras.
“Rest assured that our support in the Senate is with the Cordillerans on the passage of its autonomy,” he said.
In a video message played during the forum, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Local Government, said since the ARC is constitutional, “we will therefore fully support it.”
Initiated by the six Cordillera representatives, House Bill 5343 or the Organic Act establishing the ARC was brought to the House Committee on Local Government in March last year.
A counterpart of this bill, Senate Bill 1678, was authored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri in February 2018, while the related Senate Bill 1923 authored by Senator Ejercito was submitted recently.
Dubbed as the “Cordillera Autonomy Leaders’ Forum with the Senators,” the gathering informed the Senators of the unity of the Cordilleran people in their quest for self-determination as well as the pressing need for autonomy in the region.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/12/opapp-senators-back-autonomy-in-cordillera/
Speaking at a forum in Manila with members of the Senate as well as leaders of the Cordilleras last Friday, Dureza said the recent passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) can help accelerate the fulfillment of the aspirations of the Cordillerans.
“Let your presence be known and I am sure you will not be ignored because it is your right under the Constitution to have your own Autonomous Region of the Cordilleras,” he said.
The forum was organized to drumbeat national awareness and fast-track the passage of House Bill 5343 and Senate Bill 1678 which seek to establish the ARC.
Speaking to the group, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said the people of the Cordilleras should “anticipate that the bill will be passed.”
“Let us really work on this and in the meantime, let’s conduct a political action at ihanda na natin yung (and let us get ready with the) support mechanism on the ground,” he said.
For his part, Senator JV Ejercito gave assurance that the Senate supports the passage of the law giving autonomy to the Cordilleras.
“Rest assured that our support in the Senate is with the Cordillerans on the passage of its autonomy,” he said.
In a video message played during the forum, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Local Government, said since the ARC is constitutional, “we will therefore fully support it.”
Initiated by the six Cordillera representatives, House Bill 5343 or the Organic Act establishing the ARC was brought to the House Committee on Local Government in March last year.
A counterpart of this bill, Senate Bill 1678, was authored by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri in February 2018, while the related Senate Bill 1923 authored by Senator Ejercito was submitted recently.
Dubbed as the “Cordillera Autonomy Leaders’ Forum with the Senators,” the gathering informed the Senators of the unity of the Cordilleran people in their quest for self-determination as well as the pressing need for autonomy in the region.
https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/08/12/opapp-senators-back-autonomy-in-cordillera/
Arroyo files bill proposing water, irrigation dep’t
SPEAKER Gloria M. Arroyo has filed a bill creating a new government office to rationalize the country’s water, irrigation, sewage and sanitation systems.
House Bill (HB) 8068, or the “Department of Water, Irrigation, Sewage and Sanitation Resource Management Act of 2018,” seeks to consolidate the functions carried out by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
The government agencies are controlled by three separate offices — the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Office of the President.
This present set-up resulted in a “poorly coordinated or even conflicting implementation of national policies and plans… thereby resulting in backlogs in the provision of water supply and sanitation services,” Ms. Arroyo said in the explanatory note.
If passed into law, the department will be mandated to develop policies to provide universal access to safe, adequate, affordable and sustainable water supply, irrigation, sewage and sanitation services.
The Department will also be in charge of protecting and conserving water resources and managing its ownership, appropriation, utilization, exploitation, and development.
It will also assume all obligations of the relevant parts of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Metro Manila Development Authority, NIA, NWRB, and the DPWH, through its attached agencies, LWUA and MWSS.
The office will be led by a Secretary and five undersecretaries to handle finance, administration, planning and engineering, regulatory and financial assistance programs, as well as operations.
At present, there are two similar bills filed in the chamber — HBs 2457 and 4995, authored by Representatives Arthur C. Yap and Estrellita B. Suansing, respectively.
Senators Ralph G. Recto and Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, have each filed Senate Bill 933 and 1217, proposing to create instead the Water Regulatory Commission. Both the earlier House bills and the Senate bills mentioned remain pending at the committee level. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
http://www.bworldonline.com/arroyo-files-bill-proposing-water-irrigation-dept/
House Bill (HB) 8068, or the “Department of Water, Irrigation, Sewage and Sanitation Resource Management Act of 2018,” seeks to consolidate the functions carried out by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
The government agencies are controlled by three separate offices — the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the Office of the President.
This present set-up resulted in a “poorly coordinated or even conflicting implementation of national policies and plans… thereby resulting in backlogs in the provision of water supply and sanitation services,” Ms. Arroyo said in the explanatory note.
If passed into law, the department will be mandated to develop policies to provide universal access to safe, adequate, affordable and sustainable water supply, irrigation, sewage and sanitation services.
The Department will also be in charge of protecting and conserving water resources and managing its ownership, appropriation, utilization, exploitation, and development.
It will also assume all obligations of the relevant parts of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Metro Manila Development Authority, NIA, NWRB, and the DPWH, through its attached agencies, LWUA and MWSS.
The office will be led by a Secretary and five undersecretaries to handle finance, administration, planning and engineering, regulatory and financial assistance programs, as well as operations.
At present, there are two similar bills filed in the chamber — HBs 2457 and 4995, authored by Representatives Arthur C. Yap and Estrellita B. Suansing, respectively.
Senators Ralph G. Recto and Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, have each filed Senate Bill 933 and 1217, proposing to create instead the Water Regulatory Commission. Both the earlier House bills and the Senate bills mentioned remain pending at the committee level. — Charmaine A. Tadalan
http://www.bworldonline.com/arroyo-files-bill-proposing-water-irrigation-dept/
The proposed Department of Disaster Management
President Duterte called for the creation of a Department of Disaster Management (DDM) in his State of the Nation Address on July 23. Less than three weeks later, Metro Manila experienced widespread flooding. Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something?
The President said: “I am calling [on] both houses of Congress to expeditiously craft a law establishing a new authority or department that is responsive to the prevailing 21st-century conditions and empowered to best deliver [an] enhanced disaster resiliency and quick disaster response.”
That idea seems straightforward. The country faces a variety of natural disasters every year that require close coordination between the national and local governments, a variety of different responses based on particular needs, and a comprehensive and holistic planning approach. Preparations and plans must be made for what should be accomplished before, during and after a major event like what the Supertyphoon Yolanda experience taught us.
While the details are still being discussed, the proposed DDM should obviously have Cabinet level status. “Disaster management” directly affects the lives of all Filipinos.
Currently, efforts to minimize risks against disasters are handled by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), an agency enacted into law in 2010. It “is a working group of various government, non-government, civil sector and private sector organizations, administered by the Office of Civil Defense under the Department of National Defense.” The functions of the NDRRMC are: “to plan and lead the guiding activities in the field of communication, warning signals, emergency, transportation, evacuation, rescue, engineering, health and rehabilitation, public education and auxiliary services such as fire fighting and the police in the country.”
However, if you look at the organizational structure of the NDRRMC, it is amazing it gets anything done at all. The chairman is the defense secretary, with the secretaries of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Science and Technology, and the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority as vice chairmen.
Further, there are 40 members of the NDRRMC from the president of the Social Security System to the secretary of the Department of Tourism. All of them may have important inputs, but remember the old saying that “a camel is a horse designed by a committee.”
The past performance of the current NDRRMC is not the issue. It is a matter of improving the government response from the highest to the local level. The NDRRMC is not an independent organization as it ultimately answers to the Department of National Defense. Since its establishment, the NDRRMC has laid a good foundation for the government’s disaster response, and now the next step must be taken by elevating and broadening its authority.
The Department of Disaster Management needs to be a top priority for Congress and the usual political bickering over who gets the credit should be put aside. The people deserve better services from their elected officials.
Of course, the issues raised by the critics of the proposed DDM are worth considering, especially those coming from Sen. Richard J. Gordon, who is not only Red Cross chairman but a veteran action man in many disasters and crises in the nation’s life. Gordon said the proposed department requires more taxpayers’ money, and the focus on “disaster management” alone is “defensive.” The thrust must be “disaster risk reduction,” like what the agencies comprising NDRRMC are tasked to do.
Congress must also carefully weigh the consequences of transferring the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to the proposed DDM from the Department of Science and Technology. The DOST, for all its meager resources, has in the past several years built up these two vital agencies into well-functioning, indispensable units in the overall disaster risk reduction and management system.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/the-proposed-department-of-disaster-management/
The President said: “I am calling [on] both houses of Congress to expeditiously craft a law establishing a new authority or department that is responsive to the prevailing 21st-century conditions and empowered to best deliver [an] enhanced disaster resiliency and quick disaster response.”
That idea seems straightforward. The country faces a variety of natural disasters every year that require close coordination between the national and local governments, a variety of different responses based on particular needs, and a comprehensive and holistic planning approach. Preparations and plans must be made for what should be accomplished before, during and after a major event like what the Supertyphoon Yolanda experience taught us.
While the details are still being discussed, the proposed DDM should obviously have Cabinet level status. “Disaster management” directly affects the lives of all Filipinos.
Currently, efforts to minimize risks against disasters are handled by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), an agency enacted into law in 2010. It “is a working group of various government, non-government, civil sector and private sector organizations, administered by the Office of Civil Defense under the Department of National Defense.” The functions of the NDRRMC are: “to plan and lead the guiding activities in the field of communication, warning signals, emergency, transportation, evacuation, rescue, engineering, health and rehabilitation, public education and auxiliary services such as fire fighting and the police in the country.”
However, if you look at the organizational structure of the NDRRMC, it is amazing it gets anything done at all. The chairman is the defense secretary, with the secretaries of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Science and Technology, and the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority as vice chairmen.
Further, there are 40 members of the NDRRMC from the president of the Social Security System to the secretary of the Department of Tourism. All of them may have important inputs, but remember the old saying that “a camel is a horse designed by a committee.”
The past performance of the current NDRRMC is not the issue. It is a matter of improving the government response from the highest to the local level. The NDRRMC is not an independent organization as it ultimately answers to the Department of National Defense. Since its establishment, the NDRRMC has laid a good foundation for the government’s disaster response, and now the next step must be taken by elevating and broadening its authority.
The Department of Disaster Management needs to be a top priority for Congress and the usual political bickering over who gets the credit should be put aside. The people deserve better services from their elected officials.
Of course, the issues raised by the critics of the proposed DDM are worth considering, especially those coming from Sen. Richard J. Gordon, who is not only Red Cross chairman but a veteran action man in many disasters and crises in the nation’s life. Gordon said the proposed department requires more taxpayers’ money, and the focus on “disaster management” alone is “defensive.” The thrust must be “disaster risk reduction,” like what the agencies comprising NDRRMC are tasked to do.
Congress must also carefully weigh the consequences of transferring the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to the proposed DDM from the Department of Science and Technology. The DOST, for all its meager resources, has in the past several years built up these two vital agencies into well-functioning, indispensable units in the overall disaster risk reduction and management system.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/the-proposed-department-of-disaster-management/