Philippines Backs UN Initiative in Raising Safety Awareness Against Disasters

(PNA) – Malacañang said it supports a United Nations initiative raising awareness on disasters to make vulnerable communities much safer.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction head, Margareta Wahlström, have urged disaster-prone countries like the Philippines to make “disaster risk reduction” a household word.

In a radio interview on Sunday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said such an initiative is already being done by the Aquino administration.

Disaster risk reduction has been the priority of the Aquino government and has incorporated it in the pillars of its Philippine Development Plan.

“Kaya nga po hanggang sa pinakamataas na antas ng pamamahala, mayroon po tayong climate change Cabinet cluster na binubuklod lahat ng mga ahensya na mayroong responsibilidad para harapin ‘yung mga hamon ng climate change mitigation and adaptation,” Coloma told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

Among the government agencies involved in the initiative include the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Climate Change Commission.

The President heads the Climate Change Commission and is being supported by Secretary Lucille Sering, its vice chairperson.

“At sa loob po ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Aquino ay nakapaglatag na po tayo ng pambansang istratehiya para harapin ang mga hamon ng climate change adaptation at mitigation, at ito po ang pinanggagalingan ng mga programa sa disaster risk reduction and management ng ating bansa,” Coloma explained.

The government has also implemented the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, he said, noting that the Aquino government is the first administration to implement such law.

One of the law’s provisions is the conduct of review of government initiatives after five years with a main objective of creating a national organization and infrastructure for disaster risk reduction, Coloma stressed.

The President heads the hierarchy of responders from national to local levels to get everyone involved, according to Coloma.

The objective is to inculcate a culture of safety to communities and make them more disaster-resilient during calamities, he noted. (PNA) CTB/PND/RSM