CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Crafting laws that will institutionalize rehabilitation efforts, land banking, as well as establishing funds for the construction of permanent resettlement sites should be seriously considered.
This was the unsolicited advice of Pampanga Vice Gov. Lilia “Nanay” G. Pineda to lawmakers from Batangas, Cavite and the entire Calabarzon region to address the ongoing destruction of the restive Taal Volcano.
Pineda shared her thoughts to the media at the Capitol here on Monday as the Pampanga team is getting ready to return to Batangas, to help in the relief and recovery efforts and conduct medical missions for the victims of the eruption.
It is very ironic, she said, that some of the funds used to help the Taal Volcano eruption victims also came from profits of pyroclastic materials spewed also by another volcano, the Mount Pinatubo whose destructive eruption practically laid waste most parts of Pampanga in the early 1990s.
Pineda said since residents in the vicinity of the Taal Volcano are unable longer return to their residences built on permanent danger zones declared by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, various nongovernment organizations (NGO), especially the business sector should start organizing ways on how to contribute to the relief efforts and contribute lands for resettlement sites.
Pineda recalled her experience during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo when NGOs, especially the business sector, helped in appealing to then-President Fidel V. Ramos to construct various protection measures to save Pampanga.
She also recalled when then-Sen. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo crafted a law which paved the way for the creation of the now defunct Mount Pinatubo Commission, and was allotted P10 billion for the rehabilitation and relocation of the Pinatubo victims.
“Now, with that, and the help of fellow Capampangans especially the governor [Bren Z. Guiao] and other provinces, that was how we were able to rise again,” she said.
“So, the first thing to do is to form a commission. They should refrain from giving the money to the local government units but instead to the commission which is the agency task for the rehabilitation and recovery efforts,” she said.
Pineda recalled that then Public Works Secretary Florante Soriquez was able to request heavy equipment from the Netherlands, which were widely used in the desilting operations of lahar-choked major river channels.
She lamented that instead of being hailed, Soriquez was even sued for graft. “But it was him (Soriquez) and the Department of Public Works and Highways that really saved the day,” she added.
Pineda said lawmakers revisit the law crafted by Macapagal-Arroyo to help in the rehabilitation efforts of the Taal Volcano eruption which, the vice governor said is the fastest way to recover from the devastation wrought by the volcano.
