A Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) official on Monday said they are now eyeing a “more sustainable” disaster-risk reduction intervention (DRRI), amid the increasing incidents of calamities in the country.
National Secretariat for Social Action Executive Secretary Fr. Edwin Gariguez said the Church should play an active role in times of calamities through each of their dioceses.
Among the “sustainable” mitigating measures the bishops are now considering, Gariguez said, is the stricter enforcement of the solid- waste management law in urban areas.
“This also puts us in an urgent position to campaign with the government and our communities for proper law enforcement, sustained cooperation and better appreciation of continuing DRRI and climate- change initiatives,” he said.
Gariguez, also executive secretary of the Caritas Philippines, said the recent flooding brought about by incessant rains enhanced by Typhoon Karding in Metro Manila showed there is still a need to improve in the prevention of the perennial urban inconvenience.
He issued the statement during their recently concluded 39th National Social Action General Assembly.
During the event, Gariguez, together with representatives from 61 Diocesan Social Action Centers, discussed not only how to boost their capacities to respond to the needs of calamity victims but also to minimize the public harm of disasters.
He said this will allow them to complement the interventions of the government and other humanitarian organizations in disaster areas.
Fr. Rex Paul Arjona, Diocesan Social Action director of Legazpi City, agreed with Gariguez to “level up” the disaster-preparedness capacity of the Church, especially in wide-reaching man-made calamities like the Marawi City crisis and Mayon Volcano eruption.
“It is imperative for the social-action centers to be able respond appropriately and fast during disasters,” Arjona said.
To further improve local disaster preparedness, Gariguez said they are supporting the call of President Duterte for the creation of a new department that will handle disaster preparedness and response.
“It is very urgent that we have a single government agency in charge of disaster preparedness, mitigation and response to be able to provide consistent training, craft better policies and act on pressing DRRI concerns,” Gariguez said.