REELECTED Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez today welcomed President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to establish more disaster response centers across the country, especially amid the spate of typhoons battering the Philippines.
Rep. Romualdez—who served as Speaker of the 19th Congress—also emphasized the urgent need for legislation that would embed climate resilience into the country’s disaster strategy, including the permanent funding and establishment of disaster relief hubs nationwide.
“We fully support the President’s proactive move to expand the country’s disaster response infrastructure,” Rep. Romualdez said. “But to ensure consistency, efficiency, and sustainability, we must legislate and institutionalize resilience and readiness into our national development strategy.”
President Marcos issued the directive after he made a surprise inspection of the National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City on Friday, where he oversaw the automated packing of relief goods ahead of Tropical Storm Crising (international name: Wipha).
Crising, which exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility Saturday morning, combined with the prevailing southwest monsoon or habagat, triggered massive flooding in many areas across the country.
Rep. Romualdez, whose province of Leyte was devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) in 2013, emphasized that the Philippines remains one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries and is now facing even greater risks due to the worsening climate crisis.
Building permanent disaster hubs and codifying preparedness protocols into law, he said, would be essential for the country’s long-term safety.
“Calamities do not follow a schedule. Our response mechanisms shouldn’t depend solely on executive discretion or seasonal budget availability,” he said.
Rep. Romualdez also commended the President for skipping a scheduled infrastructure inspection to personally oversee emergency preparations, saying it “speaks volumes about his administration’s priorities.”
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it is prepared to assist people affected by Crising with around P2.9 billion in standby funds, 3 million food packs, over 28,000 boxes of ready-to-eat food, and nearly 335,000 non-food items prepositioned across 934 relief hubs nationwide.
“These are impressive figures, but we must ensure that this level of preparedness is not only maintained but improved through legal mandates,” Romualdez said.
During the 19th Congress, Rep. Romualdez authored House Bill No. 13, which sought the creation of a Department of Disaster Resilience.
The proposed agency would be responsible for organizing, leading, and managing the national effort to reduce disaster risks, ensure preparedness and swift response, and oversee post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation.
“We should not just react—we should be ready,” he said. “Our laws must match the scale of risk that climate change, earthquakes, and other disasters now pose to our country.”
Rep. Romualdez also stressed the importance of coordination between national and local governments and urged local government units to align their disaster preparedness plans with national protocols and resources to avoid fragmentation in crisis situations.
“From the barangay to the national government, disaster response must be swift, smart, and seamless,” he said. “Let us give our frontliners and responders the legal tools and resources they need to protect lives.” (END)
