BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – Iloilo City’s Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has filed a bill establishing a Flood Recovery Fund that grants flood victims “no-interest” loans.
“Many victims need additional resources outside of their usual income to recover,” said Santiago in filing Senate Bill (SB) 394.
The Ilongga senator urged the government to also come up with “best practices” to predict, prevent and minimize flooding and its effects.
SB 1576 proposes to adopt and use relevant technologies for flood prevention.
“A major effort must be done to collate our flood-related knowledge as a country and disseminate such information to all stakeholders to minimize the damage brought about by floods,” Santiago added.
To avoid accidents caused by flood, Santiago also introduced SB 1724 directing relevant government agencies to place warning signs at each culvert or enclosed drainage system.
The proposed law aims to prevent accidents involving people who sustain injuries or die by falling into these structures.
“There is a need to protect children who wander into culverts or drainage systems particularly when an area is flooded and the drainage system can hardly be seen,” Santiago said./PN
