Forced evac measure ok’d

CEBU, Philippines - With Cebu City not having enough “ideal evacuation centers”, the City Council has approved an ordinance implementing forced evacuation as final resort during calamities or emergencies.

During the regular session yesterday, the council approved the ordinance authored by Councilors Ma. Nida Cabrera and Gerardo Carillo. 

The approved ordinance is now awaiting Mayor Michael Rama’s final stamp of approval.

The authors said the measure will help protect the lives and properties of constituents, as well as mitigate the effects of man-made and natural disasters.

Councilor David Tumulak, head of Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, hopes the city government would consider building ideal evacuation centers in all 80  barangays before implementing such ordinance.

Tumulak said the city only has 40 existing evacuation centers. It means that there are also 40 barangays in the city without ideal evacuation centers.

Tumulak said an ideal evacuation center should be accessible, sturdy, with electricity, with comfort rooms, and should be away from further hazards and threats.

He said the city should first identify specific locations of safe evacuation centers for a particular calamity before implementing forced evacuation, but with few exceptional circumstances.

“Forced evacuation might lead evacuees to a more life-threatening conditions during calamities if not more casualties may happen,” he said.

The newly approved ordinance, however, stipulates that all barangays with the coordination of CCDRRMC should identify appropriate site for the barangay evacuation center.

Establishment of evacuation centers in the barangay will be charged against the local disaster risk reduction funds and other funds from other government agencies or private entities.

The ordinance also lays down procedures on the declaration of forced education.

CCDRRMC is the designated office to recommend to the City Mayor for immediate declaration of forced evacuation when danger of loss of lives is “imminent.”

The ordinance requires the establishment of evacuation centers or such places where the internally displaced persons will be temporarily sheltered.

“The establishment of measure aims to secure their properties from looting, theft, robber, and the likes in the concerned areas,” the authors said.

Vehicles should be on stand-by at designated areas to transport local residents to the identified evacuation.

City residents should be informed of the forced evacuation in a manner that would not cause panic, said the authors.

Only the city mayor with the determination of CCDRRMC could issue an order allowing residents can go back to their respective houses when there are no more threats.

Coordination of the government agencies, such as Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bureau of jail Management and Penology assigned in affected locality, is needed during the forced evacuation and these agencies will be enlisted by the city mayor for its assistance.

In the event that local residents refuse to leave their homes or, after evacuating, go back to their homes/affected areas without any order or directive issued to this effect, the city government may use reasonable force that is commensurate under the circumstances to evacuate them from the area.

But the manner should be humane, respectful of the dignity of the persons, not using disproportionate force, without discrimination and with conscious attention to the needs of vulnerable and marginalized sectors such as children, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities, with the end view that lives are safely secured.

The city government will not take liability should any person disregard or oppose the order of forced evacuation.  — /JMD (FREEMAN)