A COMPREHENSIVE Internet-based Disaster Risk Information Roadmap as part of a program to protect the general population and environment from the ill-effects of natural disasters is on the agenda of presidential frontrunner Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. if he is elected in the May 9 polls.
In a news statement, Marcos bared plans to replicate and use as model the United Nation Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) system.
Under such program, UNDRR has comprehensive information on all dimensions of disaster risk, including hazards, exposure, vulnerability and capacity, related to persons, communities, organizations and countries and their assets.
The road map will be implemented through an IT program accessible in all parts of the country, the former senator said.
“This is very important to protect our environment as we institute programs to balance economic gains and environment,” said Marcos.
In UNDRR, disaster risk information includes all studies, information and mapping required to understand the disaster risk drivers and underlying risk factors.
Earlier, Marcos cited environment protection and preservation as part of his priority program, as he stressed the need to institute policy reforms and programs that create a peaceful balance between economic development and the environment.
“Nature has its rights that should be protected. It should be allowed to flourish, reproduce and attain its abundance side-by-side with human civilization in perfect balance and harmony with our growing communities,” he said in a recent sidelines interview while on a provincial sortie.
“We should do this if we want to safeguard the most vulnerable members of our society from the onslaught of natural calamities,” he added.
Among his plans is to create the Department of Disaster Resilience, taking the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an effective model of disaster resilience that integrates many other agencies.
Promoting reforestation and pushing for stricter anti-illegal logging law will also be given priority in a Marcos administration, as he will push industrial forest plantations to supply market demand for wood.
In mining, Marcos said his administration will forge a collaborative relationship with all stakeholders to guard against abuse, and ensure mining helps the economy recover from the pandemic.
He is also eyeing a Department of Water and Resources Management to ensure that clean and potable water is available to every Filipino.
Marcos vowed to also focus on solid waste management including “waste to energy programs” that he deems an income-generating initiative of his administration.
Likewise, the presidential frontrunner said he plans to create an ecology-based Disaster Risk Reduction program that should be addressed from the point of view of environmental degradation especially on forests, wetlands, coastal and marine and dry lands.
Image credits: Roy Domingo