ACE MORANDANTE/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said evacuation centers should be built with structures strong enough to withstand typhoons, not merely for the purpose of providing shelter to displaced Filipinos.
“We build a structure stronger than a typhoon that would come their way para mapuntahan ng mga tao. Small rooms with many comfort rooms where people can really stay for a while,” Duterte said in a televised address.
Duterte made the statement days after typhoon “Ulysses” barreled through Luzon and forced more than 350,000 people out of their homes in its aftermath.
Duterte called on Congress to allocate funds for the construction of evacuation centers.
“‘Yun sana ang tugunan ng Congress, kasi kapag ganitong deluge, they tend to go to places for shelter and relief,” he said.
“Ulysses” left at least 73 people dead and 24 others injured as of Tuesday.
It also caused P5.2 billion in infrastructure damage and P2.7 billion in agriculture damage.
Earlier, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo also called for renovations of school buildings, which are also being used as evacuation centers in times of flooding.
“Sana yung design ng mga schools nababagay na sa lugar natin. In Manila kasi, ‘yung mga public schools, multi-leveled. Pero sa amin, most of our schools are one-storey,” she said in an interview over ANC’s Headstart.
“Parati kong sinasabi, lalo na dun sa mga bahain na lugar, wag tayo mag-one-storey. Lagi yun naa-underwater during floods,” she added. John Ezekiel J. Hirro