SEN. Bong Go has urged the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to prioritize the construction of evacuation centers instead of questionable flood control projects.

The senator made the appeal during the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon investigation on alleged graft-ridden flood control projects.

Go asked the DPWH to prioritize the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 12076 or the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act which he authored and co-sponsored.

RA 12076 mandates the establishment of safe and fire-resilient evacuation centers in every municipality and city nationwide.

DPWH told to build evacuation centers, This news data comes from:http://www.gyglfs.com

“I call on the Department of Public Works and Highways to prioritize this law instead of implementing failed flood control projects,” Go said.

He said 60,000 evacuation centers can be established from the reported P1.2 trillion budget for flood control from 2022 to 2025.

With that budget, all 1,493 municipalities and 200 cities would have established their own evacuation centers, Go added.

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that the DPWH allocated P 3.6 billion to the Ligtas Pinoy Centers in the 2026 national expenditure program.

The Ligtas Pinoy Centers will safeguard the dignity and well-being of disaster-affected communities while accelerating recovery efforts, Go said.