00:00President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. signed the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act
00:04which establishes strong and safe evacuation centers in every city and municipality.
00:11Its purpose is to provide temporary housing for those who might be affected by calamity.
00:17The President gave a decree that the schools should not be used as evacuation centers
00:22because it affects the students' studies.
00:25The DPWH also issued a decree that the evacuation centers should comply with the National Building Code
00:32and be prepared to face the effects of climate change.
00:36Meanwhile, the government will also exempt the payment of student loans
00:40to students in areas that are under the state of calamity.
00:45This is in accordance with the Student Loan Payment Moratorium Act
00:48to reduce the income of families.
00:52We need to ensure that the evacuation centers sufficiently respond to the needs of our people
00:59affected by calamities and other such emergencies.
01:04Investing in these climate resilient facilities must be the norm
01:09for we are not only protecting the people's lives
01:12but also capacitating our local government units to respond, to reduce, and to manage the risks of disasters.
01:20Schools are supposed to be sanctuaries for learning, creativity, and growth.
01:26They should not also bear the burden of being makeshift shelters.
01:31With the enactment of this law, we heed that appeal
01:36and commit to only using our schools for the promotion of our students' welfare
01:41and development of the education system.
