On the afternoon of May 24, continuing the fifth session, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, the National Assembly discussed a number of contents with different opinions of the Civil Defense Law project. Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong chaired the meeting.

General Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defense attended the meeting.

At the meeting, the establishment of the Civil Defense Fund was the topic of interest and discussion among delegates. Opinions were highly unanimous on the establishment of the Civil Defense Fund.

Early, remote preparation for incident response is critical.

Explaining and clarifying the content raised by the National Assembly deputies, at the meeting, on behalf of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, General Phan Van Giang respectfully thanked the National Assembly deputies for their dedicated and responsible opinions; and said that the drafting agency will fully absorb the deputies' opinions to complete the draft law with high quality.

Clarifying the Civil Defense Fund, General Phan Van Giang said that the draft law has proposed two options and the Government proposed to establish this fund before incidents, accidents, disasters... occur.

Citing specific examples in urgent situations when dealing with the recent Covid-19 pandemic, General Phan Van Giang said that without special forces and capital reserves, it would be impossible to respond promptly, handle well, and quickly resolve incidents that occurred.

Accordingly, when the Covid-19 epidemic occurred in Ho Chi Minh City, the Army, along with other armed forces and medical forces, were assigned to help areas with strong outbreaks, even beyond the resistance capacity of those areas. However, the Army established 16 hospitals with 500 - 1,000 beds in all three regions of the country; then transported Covid-19 vaccines to all regions; used mobile vehicles to produce oxygen for people...

Emphasizing that without forces and resources, this cannot be done, General Phan Van Giang said that it is clear that reserve forces as well as capital and funds are needed; when it happens, it cannot be done. Therefore, Minister Phan Van Giang emphasized that early and remote preparation to respond to incidents is very important; he asked National Assembly deputies to support the issue of the Civil Defense Fund.

At the same time, Minister Phan Van Giang also said that there will be appropriate methods to avoid creating new staff, ensuring the fund operates effectively and for the right purpose. In addition, Minister Phan Van Giang also said that there should be specific criteria for all levels and sectors to base on to have early and remote preparation in responding to disasters and incidents.

National Assembly Deputies Support the Establishment of the Civil Defense Fund

Assessing that the drafting agency (Ministry of National Defense) has worked very hard to revise and perfect the draft law, delegate Nguyen Anh Tri (Hanoi) expressed his agreement with the need for a Civil Defense Fund; however, he suggested reviewing it to avoid overlap. Because, according to the delegate, it is necessary to prepare a fund in advance to prevent natural disasters, catastrophes, and incidents that can occur at any time.

Delegate Nguyen Hai Dung (Nam Dinh) also expressed his support for the establishment of a Civil Defense Fund. Explaining this view, the delegate said that Resolution No. 22 dated August 30, 2022 of the Politburo stated that civil defense must be proactively prepared early, from afar, before wars, disasters, incidents, natural disasters, and epidemics occur.

"Thus, the establishment of the Civil Defense Fund according to option 1 is the preparation for civil defense early, before a disaster occurs and is in line with the spirit of Resolution 22," delegate Nguyen Hai Dung emphasized.

In addition, according to delegate Nguyen Hai Dung, the purpose of the fund is to prioritize emergency relief of food, drinking water, medicine and other urgent needs for those affected by incidents and disasters. The delegate found this provision appropriate because with the available resources, essential necessities can be immediately provided to those affected who are in danger of life and health.

"If the fund is only established after a disaster occurs, it will not be able to meet the immediate and timely supply requirements for food, drinking water, and medicine, which will easily lead to a higher risk of human loss. Therefore, the Civil Defense Fund should be established before an incident or disaster occurs to effectively carry out the purpose of civil defense, which is to protect the people," delegate Nguyen Hai Dung further analyzed.

Lieutenant General Ha Tho Binh, National Assembly delegate of Ha Tinh province, Commander of Military Region 4 also proposed to keep the regulations on the Civil Defense Fund as the draft submitted by the Government.

According to delegate Ha Tho Binh, civil defense activities have a very wide scope, related to many areas of social life, handling important national issues related to preventing, combating, and overcoming the consequences of war; preventing, combating, and overcoming the consequences of incidents, disasters, natural disasters, and epidemics.

In addition, the fund is implemented on a voluntary basis, not mandatory; it is used in conditions where the state budget cannot meet the demand in a timely manner. Meanwhile, there are currently many types of incidents and disasters that do not have funds to use when they occur...

"Practice shows that if there is a Civil Defense Fund, there will be immediate resources to carry out emergency relief activities to minimize damage caused by incidents and disasters," delegate Ha Tho Binh clearly stated.

GRASSLAND