A UN official has described Manila as “a big
challenge” when it comes to handling natural disasters, because of the “scale
and multitude of risks facing it.”
“Actually,
any big city like Manila is a challenge,” said Margareta Wahlstrom, who heads
the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
Interviewed
during the just-concluded 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction, or AMCDRR, in the Thai capital, Wahlstrom said Manila as a local
government unit (LGU) was “a tough issue… because of very important
responsibilities delegated to it by the national government.”
While
the national government had “the right DRR-related policies,” the UN official
said that “some LGUs do not have enough technical capability to implement these
policies.”
Strengthening
these LGUs would put the Philippines “in a very good space,” said Wahlström,
who serves as United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s special
representative for disaster risk reduction.
Manila
could also adopt “some best practices by model local governments like Albay and
Cebu,” Wahlstrom said, adding that the city government and other Philippine
LGUs should “enhance disaster resilience programs at the local level” by
strengthening the role of women, children, the youth and persons with
disabilities in disaster risk reduction planning and management.
LGUs
could also “increase public investments on DRR and promote the use of science
and technology in disaster risk reduction programs.”
In a
report, the Geneva-based UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNISDR) cited Makati City, Albay province, as well as San Francisco town on
Camotes Island in Cebu for their “best practices” on a wide range of
DRR-related challenges, including early warning, legislation and food
management.
Makati
made it to the list for its “sophisticated and efficient disaster risk
management system,” which has fully institutionalised disaster risk reduction,
preparedness and emergency management (into) dedicated organisations, (with)
direct funding at the local level.
Disaster
risk reduction in Makati has been “integrated into urban planning, health,
disaster response and risk governance at different government levels,”
according to the report.
It
added that Makati also “engages all levels of society, particularly barangays
(villages), which conduct regular community dialogues to discuss risk
management issues.”
Albay’s
disaster risk reduction strategy focuses on “relocating businesses and more
than 10,000 households.”
Jerry
E. Esplanada
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
in Singapore since 1994.
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