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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 18) – Key officials from the Environment and Public Works and Highways departments have been chosen to head the government’s newly created task force for post-typhoon rehabilitation efforts, Malacañang said on Wednesday.
In an interview with CNN Philippines, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed that DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu and DPWH Secretary Mark Villar would jointly lead the task force, and not Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, as previously announced. .
Roque noted that the role reversal was based on science, explaining that rehabilitation and research are the exact specialties of those agencies.
“Of course, this is not only based on science, but it also makes sense because when you talk about rehabilitation, you are basically talking about roads and bridges, and buildings destroyed by calamity, which is the lawn of DPWH,” he said. Roque. The fountain.
“They also talk about the scientific reasons why we have typhoons of this nature, which is climate change, and that is the reason why the DENR co-leads the working group,” he explained.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the creation of the interagency task force on Saturday, in an attempt to streamline rehabilitation efforts and speed up assistance in typhoon-ravaged areas.
Critics have said the agency will simply duplicate the role of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. But Roque previously defended the president’s decision, saying the new task force is expected to address current coordination issues.
Parts of the county, particularly Luzon, are still reeling from the effects of back-to-back typhoons, with dozens of deaths and billions of dollars worth of damage after Quinta, Rolly and Ulysses.
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