MANILA, Philippines?Metro Manila needs an elected governor in order to unite all 17 cities and municipalities and get them to come up with a cohesive plan for disaster preparedness, and who would be held accountable if things go awry, according to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, one of the President's economic advisers.

Salceda, who said the passage of Tropical Storm Ondoy (international condename: Ketsana) highlighted Metro Manila's lack of disaster preparedness, said that since local government units get their own funds and have their own power base, they do not follow the MMDA.

Thus, the MMDA's chance to come up with a cohesive response plan for disasters is being wasted, Salceda said. But it would help if the MMDA chief is an elected official, he added.

?You need unity of command, and this emanates from political authority. And political authority only comes form being elected, so you need to have an MMDA chairman directly elected by the people so that you would have the appropriate response in the [National Capital Region],? he said at the Kapihan sa Sulo forum.

He added that there could be a Metro Manila governor in the style of former first lady Imelda Marcos, who held vast powers in this position, to which she was appointed by her husband, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

According to him, the problem with Metro Manila is that its cities work on their own, and sometimes just pass on problems to neighboring areas instead of actually resolving them.

?Metro Manila is an ecosystem unto its own. So you need political authority to synergize the efforts of the local government units and various units to provide a coherent and cohesive response [to disasters],? he said.

He also said that if the Metro Manila governor is not elected, there would be no one accountable for any lapses in running the National Capital Region. But if he is is an elected official, people could punish him by rejecting him at the polls.

?There should be someone to be spanked, there should be somebody jailed.... If many will die because I made a mistake, then I would not be reelected,? he said.

Salceda said the images of Metro Manila he saw during Ondoy told him that the metropolis, which houses the country's capital and major government offices, is sorely lacking preparation for calamities.

The images include people who had climbed onto rooftops to escape rising floods without any food or rain gear; cars driving through obviously deep floodwaters; and children swimming in the floods while smiling parents looked on.

In Albay, which is on the path of most of the destructive storms that hit the country, things are done differently, according to Salceda.

Rain gauges are placed in strategic areas; barangay officials are given SIM cards they could use to update higher ups about the situation in their areas; evacuation is done three days ahead, and permanent evacuation sites are available.

He noted that Albay gives five kilos of breakfast as incentive for families to go to evacuation areas while in Metro Manila, five kilos of rice are given as relief goods. Albay has also insured its school buildings, which are usually used for evacuation.

?Our message is, we eat preparedness for breakfast. That's the difference for Albay,? he said.

Salceda said there is nothing mystical about adapting to climate change, or the extreme weather conditions it brings. What is needed is good governance from local officials, who should be able to realize what their town needs and would be able to respond to these.

?The primacy of the leadership of local government unit leaders is very critical,? he said.

Salceda noted that his province, being one of the most vulnerable to calamities, receives aid from international groups. It also helps that he has the ear of the President, and he also noted that there is a question of whether Albay's programs could be replicated in other provinces whose officials do not have easy access to the chief executive.

But he also said what is important is what a local official does with this kind of access available to him.