Lusot na sa ikalawang pagbasa ng Kamara ang panukalang naglalayong magtatag ng Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR).
Sa pamamagitan ng ayes at nays, inaprubahan ng mababang kapulungan ng Kongreso ang House Bill No. 5989 o ang Department of Resilience Act.
Ayon kay Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, isa sa mga pangunahing may-akda ng panukala, ang DDR ang siyang magiging pangunahing ahensya ng pamahalaan na “responsible, accountable, and liable” para sa disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response, recovery, and rehabilitation matapos ang kalamidad.
“We can no longer deny the fact that climate change is real, that we are a volcanically and tectonically active country, and that we face several typhoons each year. Disasters are a fact of Philippine life,” ani Salceda.
“But we can mitigate the human and socioeconomic costs of these disasters. DDR will help ensure that we have a full-time agency in charge of keeping us strong and ready for disasters,” dagdag pa nito.
Sa oras na maging ganap na batas, ang DDR ay bubuuin ng Office of Civil Defense (OCD) bilang pangunahing organisasyon gayundin ang Climate Change Commission Office, Health Emergency Management Bureau ng Department of Health (DOH), at Disaster Response Assistance at Disaster Response Management Bureau ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Mababatid na sa kanyang ikalimang State of the Nation Address nitong Hulyo, binigyan diin ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang kahalagahan nang pagtatag ng DDR para matiyak ang kaligtasan ng publiko sa tuwing mayroong kalamidad.
