As Tropical Depression Amang brings heavy rains over the eastern parts of Luzon and Visayas, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday reiterated his proposal to include calamity victims as beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps to help them recover.
“Ang 4Ps, ginawa iyan para ma-break ang intergenerational poverty. At isa sa causes ng intergenerational poverty ay y’ung hindi makabangon ang mga pamilyang apektado ng kalamidad,” Cayetano said on April 13, 2023.
This as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 has been raised over 11 provinces on Thursday as Amang traverses the coastal waters of Caramoan in Camarines Sur province.
“Ang DSWD, bibigyan ng immediate financial assistance ang mga pamilyang apektado ng bagyo, lindol, or whatever natural calamity. Then within 15 to 30 days ia-assess y’ung economic status ng pamilya,” Cayetano said.
The senator proposed that individuals who are not rendered poor by a disaster be put on the 4Ps for a year, while individuals rendered poor by the disaster be entitled to a longer period of assistance.
Cayetano had formally filed the proposal on July 18 last year through Senate Bill No. 302 or the 4Ps for Disaster Victims Act.
“This measure proposes to strengthen the 4Ps Law to aid our kababayan placed in unfortunate situations without their fault, such as in disasters,” he said in his Explanatory Note.
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center says the Philippines is located within the typhoon belt in the Pacific, making it susceptible to about 20 cyclones a year, five of which are usually destructive.
The senator added that while the government may not be able to stop disasters, it can empower itself so that fewer families would be negatively impacted in the first place.
“It pays to be proactive. With knowledge, training, education, equipment, tools, and the right infrastructure to mitigate disasters, there would be less devastation,” he said.
He called on the public to also listen to government advisories and be cooperative in the implementation of precautionary measures during disasters.
“Wala namang ilalabas na babala ang ating gobyerno na ikapapamahamak natin. Huwag tayong matigas ang ulo para hindi lumala ang maging epekto ng bagyo sa ating buhay at mga ari-arian,” he said.
