Legarda Lauds DepEd for Creating its Own Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA TODAY LAUDED THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED) FOR CREATING ITS OWN DISASTER RISK REDUCTION MANAGEMENT OFFICE (DRRMO), SAYING THIS MOVE WILL AUGUR WELL FOR THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE AND ASSETS IN THE EDUCATION SECTOR.
Under Deped Order No. 50, Education Secretary Armin Luistro created the Deped DRRMO “to institutionalize the culture of safety at all levels, to systematize protection of education investments and to ensure continued delivery of quality education services.”
Legarda, who is the chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said Deped plays a big role in disaster preparedness. “It is in charge of the protection of our children while they are in schools and of its personnel as well.”
“Aside from this, schools offer safety and shelter to those displaced by disasters, serving as evacuation centers. As part of its disaster risk reduction measures, Deped is tasked to build disaster-resilient school buildings,” the Senator continued.
She also said that under the Climate Change Act of 2009, Deped was mandated to “integrate climate change into the primary and secondary education curricula and/or subjects, such as, but not limited to, science, biology, sibika, history,” and into textbooks, primers and other educational materials. “Knowledge on disaster preparedness measures is crucial in ensuring that children and teachers can protect themselves from natural hazards by knowing exactly what to do,” Legarda stressed.
“Through this initiative, I hope that Deped will prompt schools in high-risk areas to develop and implement disaster preparedness and contingency plans so that students will survive and continue their schooling in the aftermath of disasters,” Legarda concluded.