EO for rehab, recovery efforts underway

Local government units, he said, will also be called to render assistance to the task force in carrying out its mandate. (File: ARCEL VALDERRAMA/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

MANILA – An executive order (EO) to form a “Build Back Better Task Force” that would implement immediate solutions to disaster rehabilitation and recovery of typhoon-hit areas is currently being drafted, Malacañang said Monday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark after Duterte on Saturday ordered the creation of a task force to fast-track the distribution of assistance to victims of successive typhoons.

“May dina-draft na pong executive order tungkol dito (There is an executive order being drafted on this),” he said in a Palace press briefing.

Roque said the task force will be headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea with representatives from various agencies as members, including the Departments of Agriculture, Public Works and Highways, Budget and Management and Social Welfare and Development; National Irrigation Administration; National Electrification Administration; National Housing Authority, among others.

The Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, and Philippine Coast Guard must provide assistance to the task force, he added.

Local government units, he said, will also be called to render assistance to the task force in carrying out its mandate.

With Medialdea as chair of the task force, Roque said his role as “primus inter pares” or first among equals will allow him to persuade other agencies to fast-track the delivery of assistance “outside of the current bureaucratic framework”.

“So ang sinasabi lang ni Presidente, miski walang pagpupulong ng council, puwede na magdesisyon ang Executive Secretary lalong-lalo na (So what the President is saying, even if there’s no meeting with the council, the Executive Secretary can make decisions especially) if it means saving lives. To make sure that the funds are available para ibigay ang lahat ng ating pangangailangan (to give to those who need it),” he said.

Roque said the task force was simply to stress that “someone has to be in-charge” with the full assistance of the entire Cabinet.

He also explained that the creation of a “more permanent body” that will focus and develop expertise on post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery of typhoon-hit areas is necessary since a proposed legislation creating the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) has yet to be enacted into law.

The House of Representatives approved its version of the DDR bill last September, while similar measures remain pending in the Senate.

“This body will have a clear chain of command and direct mandate to address and monitor the multifarious issues and concerns involved in the rehabilitation and recovery phase of typhoon-affected areas,” he said.

Roque, meanwhile, rejected early criticism that the creation of a new task force would be “redundant” since there is already an existing National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

“Wala naman pong (There’s no) superfluity. It will facilitate the easier and the faster provision of relief and assistance pag meron pong kalamidad (if there is calamity),” he said.

He said successive typhoons that hit the country make the creation of a task force a “necessity”.

“Ang gusto lang talaga ni Presidente mas mabilis na pagbigay ng pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan pag merong kalamidad (The President just wants the immediate giving of aid to our citizens during calamities),” he added.

He, meanwhile, appealed to the public to give the EO a chance to prove whether it can make a difference in providing quicker response and rehabilitation.

“Let’s give it a chance. Wala pa naman ‘no (It hasn’t even been signed yet). Let’s see what kind of a difference this EO will make as delivery of quick responses and rehabilitation efforts in calamity-stricken area,” he said.