DILG audits disaster preparedness of LGUs

2008/08/25

DILG audits disaster preparedness of LGUs

Tacloban City (August 25) -- The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will soon come up with regional and national inventories on the disaster preparedness of local government units. This will be the output of the audit on the disaster preparedness of local government units.

With the onset of the typhoon season in the country, DILG Secretary Puno has given an instruction to Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero for the conduct of an assessment on the preparedness of local government units in addressing disasters such as typhoons, floods and landslides.

As Sec. Puno pointed out, typhoon or no typhoon, local government units must at all times be prepared for any emergency and must have the capability to address such emergencies.

The audit is concerned with generating benchmark information as to which among the LGUs are prepared or not prepared in times of disasters and not about scaling or establishing the degree of preparedness or unpreparedness of provinces, cities and municipalities.

Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero, has issued a memorandum directing all regional directors to mobilize all DILG Field Offices and to cause the immediate assessment of disaster prone provinces, cities and municipalities relative to their disaster preparedness and their capabilities to address the disastrous effects of typhoons, floods and landslides.

The disaster-preparedness audit will include information such as the existence and ease of mobilizing the Local Disaster Coordinating Council and Disaster Action Team (s); availability of evacuation center (s); availability of appropriate equipage, including the adequacy thereo.

The audit will also include the availability and ease of distributing relief goods; ease of mobilizing medical and counseling services; and the availability of an operational community-based Disaster Early Warning System.

The audit will also include among others the ease of budgetary re-alignment for the purchase of supplies and materials or the payment of services which are exceptionally urgent or absolutely indispensable to prevent imminent danger to, or loss of, life or property, in the event the calamity fund is exhausted; and the quality of Disaster Risk Management Plan.

All these information are indicative of the capability of a concerned local government, or the lack of it, in such areas as mitigation, relief, reconstruction, rehabilitation and related works and services. (PIA 8)

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