Press Release - Estrada: Sponsorship speech Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act Senate Bill No. 2451 under Committee Report No. 139

Mr. President, distinguished members of this august chamber, ladies and gentlemen, as your Chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, I have the honor of sponsoring Senate Bill No. 2451 under Committee Report No. 139 or "An Act Establishing Evacuation Centers for Every City and Municipality, and Appropriating Funds Therefor."

This substitute bill, authored by six of our colleagues, namely Sen. Christopher Bong Go, Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla, Jr., Sen. Win Gatchalian, Sen. Lito Lapid, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, former Public Works Secretary Sen. Mark Villar, and this representation, taking into consideration House Bill No. 7354, is among the priority legislative measures identified in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

In the World Risk Index 2022 which assessed the disaster risk for 193 countries, Philippines was identified as the country with the highest disaster risk, followed by India and Indonesia. The report measured the countries' disaster risk from two main factors of exposure (or the extent to which populations in hazard-prone areas are exposed to and burdened by the impacts of extreme natural events or the negative consequences of climate change), and vulnerability (or its susceptibility, ability to cope, and adaptive capacities).

We ranked also fourth among the 193 countries with the highest exposure to earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, coastal and riverine floods, drought and sea-level rise, as we are only behind China, Mexico and Japan which comprised the top 3.

Moreover, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction reported that the Philippines was among the top 5 countries in the world who experienced the highest number of disaster events from 2000 to 2019 with 304 events. Furthermore, the Philippines was included in the top 10 countries by total population affected by disasters at 149 million, and in the top ten countries most affected per 100,000 inhabitants, for the twenty-year period.

In view of the foregoing, policies promoting disaster preparedness and resilience should be at the top of the nation's agenda, as it directly affects the attainment of the country's