Magna carta for disaster responders sought

CALAPAN CITY—Disaster response officials urged Congress to enact a law that will address the working conditions of local government disaster responders.

The League of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (LDRRMO), organized in June, sought a magna carta for emergency responders as they lack job security and benefits despite dangers faced during rescues, evacuations, and relief operations, said Vincent Gahol, Oriental Mindoro Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer on Sunday.

DRRM workers began discussing their situation after the death of four responders in Bulacan in 2023, when a concrete wall collapsed onto their rescue boat at the height of flooding in the province.