President Marcos Jr. wants to place the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council under the Office of the President to streamline disaster response efforts.

The NDRRMC is currently under the Department of National Defense. 

Marcos said there was a need to bolster disaster response initiatives and rehabilitation projects in response to the devastation from recent storms and typhoons. 

The President made the remark when he visited Tacloban City to mark the 9th anniversary of supertyphoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon to hit the country. 

“We will put the national disaster response team under the Office of the President. And I think that we are headed in that direction because of the weather that we are suffering now from the effects of climate change,” he said.

While he thinks the recent disaster response has been good, it could still be improved, he said. 

He also said he would pursue reforms to make the government’s disaster response more proactive and responsive.

He likewise assured the people of Tacloban, which bore the brunt of Yolanda’s wrath, that he would continue to prioritize the city’s recovery, especially the completion of the resettlement of the displaced families and the provision of support to affected businesses.

Yolanda slammed into the country on November 8, 2013 and killed some 6,300 individuals and injured more than 30,000. 

It destroyed more than 1.1 million homes and caused P90 billion in damages.