Former Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, AIPA Secretary-General, raised the proposal during the First Session of the AIPA Caucus which involved the presentation of country reports on Disaster Response Management by each of the delegates.
Among those who presented their country reports were the delegates from Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Cuenco said that after hearing the country reports of the delegates, it became evident that AIPA member-countries share the same problem on disaster occurrence.
"We should all deal with positive solutions. One of these is to propose the creation of a Regional Disaster Fund. I don't know if the ASEAN has embarked on this already. If not yet, then I propose that AIPA establish a Regional Disaster Fund to be funded by each member-country and other countries which are our dialog partners," said Cuenco.
He explained that a member-country can immediately avail of the fund during disaster or emergency situation. "For example, if a member-country was struck by disaster, that country can use the fund for rehabilitation purposes. If we have such fund, we can immediately tap it for rehabilitation. We need not wait for a donation which may come in late."
Mr. Lee Chian Siong, representative of the ASEAN Secretariat, said from what he knows, Japan has been giving donations to help disaster-stricken countries in the region. He nevertheless promised to check if there is already an existing Regional Disaster Fund.
"I would like to know if there is an existing Regional Disaster Fund because we're comparing notes here. How much is the fund? Who have availed of it so far? Can we get information from the ASEAN Secretariat and give it to the AIPA Secretariat?," said Cuenco.
La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, AIPA Chairperson, lauded the delegates for the in-depth presentation of their country reports. "We have very good presentation of country reports. We can compare experiences and responses. The country reports did not only discuss Disaster Response Management but also national initiatives and possible common legislation."
source: http://www.congress.gov.ph
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