State of Calamity is a Reflection of Failure

There 16 policy declarations in RA 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. Of these 16, only 1, the last one, deals with disaster response. The first 15 deal with disaster risk reduction.

A declaration of a State of Calamity means having failed in fulfilling the intent of the law. The exception would probably be certain events caused by nature. Even then, the impact of these events are meant to be mitigated.

Any respectable disaster risk reduction operation should feel as sense of shame for having to recommend the declaration of a State of Calamity. This is particularly appropos in light of the fact that more than a few of these declarations since the start of the year have stemmed from events which are preventable or at least containable so as not to rise to the level of calamities.

As their office name implies, the main job of disaster risk reduction and management “professionals” is not to respond to disasters but to prevent them from happening in the first place or at the very least, mitigate the risk of rising to catastrophic levels.

When this happens over and over again (multiple calamity declarations) in a short span of time, shouldn’t someone be held accountable for the underlying failures?

Budget utilization quality also reflects this dilemma.

Dr. Sonny Domingo, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, outlined the increasing risks posed by climate change.

“From 2010 to 2019, extreme natural events and disasters caused damages amounting to PHP 463 billion, with a peak impact of 4% of our GDP in 2013,” Domingo said.

He emphasized the economic threat posed by climate change, projecting a potential GDP loss of USD 124 billion by 2050 if current trends continue.

There is also a need for stronger institutional mechanisms and better resource management at both the national and local levels.

The current utilization rate of local disaster risk reduction management funds is below 50%, a statistic that Dr. Domingo described as “suboptimal.”

He called for improved capacity building, better fiscal management, and the establishment of a robust local loss and damage fund system that can effectively interface with global funding mechanisms like the UN Loss and Damage Fund.

But we already have the People’s Survival Fund established in 2012 via Republic Act 10174 is funded P1 billion annually through the national budget but has hardly been accessed.

For far too long, mindsets in this area have been of disaster response. RA 10121 was meant to change this. Yet, this mentality seems to continue to pervade in the minds and actions of public officials in this space.

It has been 14 years since the law was passed. It’s way past time to replace officials who have not adapted.

Beyond the economic cost of disasters, there is the human toll of sickness and lives lost. In this context, it is criminal not to replace officials who think that the declaration of a state of calamity is just some ministerial thing. It is, instead, a reflection of failure.