Civil Protection Law to move forward this week

The approval process for the new bill on Civil Protection matters will move forward this week, according to the Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak last Friday. The Secretary said the bill is ready and is expected to be handed to the Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On this week.
Wong revealed the information on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the new director of the Judiciary Police (PJ), Sit Chong Meng upon questioning by the media.
Wong noted that the Macau SAR government has paid close attention to the facts and consequences of Typhoon Hato, and that several tasks were already carried out in accordance with the instructions of the CE, which included the definition of short-, mid- and long-term plans.

Wong reaffirmed that part of the work on the short-term plan is complete and that the remaining tasks are in progress.

The short-term plan focuses primarily on developing the emergency response, including hardware procurement and the creation of an evacuation plan. The mid-term plan will focus mainly on upcoming legislative reform.

With this bill, the government intends to define regulations to be followed by authorities in response to calamities and other incidents compromising safety and public health in the civil protection field.

At the same time, the document lays a foundation for the creation of the Civil Protection and Contingency Coordination Bureau, and provides grounds to create aggravated penalties for one-third of crimes, particularly those relating to spreading rumors during a typhoon or other disaster.

Wong reaffirmed his intention to acquire and use walkie-talkies and install loudspeakers in fire engines to disseminate information to the public, in the event that other means of communication fail.

In addition, Wong stated his intention to use the transmission system included in the second and third phases of the Video Surveillance System as a resource to improve access to information and strengthen channels of communication.