by Vincent Philip Bautista
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)–To ensure that resilient protocols among government line agencies and local government units (LGUs) are in place during calamities, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC)-10, headed by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-10, held its first full quarter council meeting, March 30.
The RDRRMC-10 dissected its learnings and insights from the shearline that ravaged the region in the later weeks of 2022.
Proper coordination with LGUs through official communication channels, the need to start emergency or special meetings when weather disturbances are announced, and the implementation, practice, and monitoring of the effectiveness of plans down to the barangay level to strengthen the proactiveness of the barangay disaster risk reduction and management committees were all mentioned as areas for improvement.
“With the strong collaboration of the council, we will be able to create an enabling environment for local government units to further develop their capacities towards mitigating the adverse impacts of disasters and climate change and innovating disaster response mechanisms,” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-10 Regional Director Wilhelm Suyko said.
As chair of the disaster rehabilitation and recovery subcommittee, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-10 said that the shear line caused P806,055,744.36 worth of damage to the region’s infrastructure. Most of the damage was to flood control and transportation systems.
The RDRRMC-10 adjusted the timelines and recalibrated some processes to finish the Recovery and Rehab Programs (RRP) in time for the preparation of the fiscal year 2024 budget proposals of agency regional offices and the immediate mobilization of its Post Disaster Risk Assessment (PDNA) and RRP to fast track the region’s resiliency measures.
“This is our second full council meeting if we count the special meeting we had last February 16; kung saan gi present nato ang (wherein we presented our) post-disaster and needs assessment and the corresponding rehab and recovery plan, I would like to extend our thanks to all the member agencies who have acted on their responsibilities and promoted disaster risk reduction and management in their spheres of influence,” OCD-10 Regional Director and RDRRMC-10 Chairperson Antonio Sugarol said. (VPSB/PIA-10)
####
