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[av_heading heading=’ ‘Resilient recovery’’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Friday, February 17, 2017
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FILIPINOS are a resilient people. After an earthquake or typhoon strikes, we rebuild our lives. Then another disaster happens. And we rebuild again. This tragic cycle must end. We must, as disaster management advocates say, observe “resilient recovery.” To put it simply, let us not rebuild the risks.
There is a need to build back better, stronger and wiser. This is the message that we have been communicating to our government agencies, local government units, the private sector and our citizens. As we rebuild the lives and communities affected by earthquakes and typhoons, our path should be to move forward, as one community, towards resilient recovery. We must be cautious not to restore the risk and vulnerabilities that existed before.
For example, 2013’s super typhoon “Yolanda” exposed the vulnerability of coastal communities to storm surges, thus, rehabilitation should focus on securing these same communities. To rebuild or rebound from a disaster, our recovery and rehabilitation strategies should be stronger, greener and more capable to reduce disaster and climate risks. We must make our country resilient to disasters to free us from the exhausting and costly cycle of rebuilding our communities every time a typhoon, storm surge, or earthquake hits our communities.
The first step is for the country’s laws — such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Climate Change Act, and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, among others — to be faithfully implemented by both the national and local governments as part of resilient recovery efforts. While we rebuild disaster-hit areas, it may be good to reflect that more are likely waiting to happen. Thus even before the next natural hazard strikes, we must take action now.
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