Philippines: Makati hosts global city-to-city sharing on disaster risk reduction

Makati city -- The local government hosted the last of a series of global study visits conducted by the World Bank-funded Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction (GFDRR) City-to-City Sharing Initiative (C2CSI) for Disaster Risk Reduction.

In a statement, it is said that among the delegates who attended the event, from April 23 to 27, came from Quito, Ecuador and Kathmandu, Nepal.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay said he was very much satisfied with the results of the first two study visits in Quito and Kathmandu attended by key officials, urban planners and disaster management experts of the city, with the outputs exceeding the projected expectations.

“The visits actually brought to the fore the best practices of Quito and Kathmandu, such as the ‘Atlas of Natural Hazards and Risks’ of Quito that was benchmarked by Makati and Kathmandu, and the strong partnership of Kathmandu with private organizations on disaster risk management public awareness campaign,” Binay said.

The mayor said the sharing initiative has been very successful since the partner cities have learned much from each other.

“The partner cities will share with other local governments in their respective countries the learning and model templates on risk sensitive land use planning, emergency operations plan and communication plan for public awareness campaign, as well as other best practices,” he said.

The C2C Sharing Initiative follows the 10 essentials of the Hyogo Framework for Action in making cities resilient. The 10 essentials include allocation of budget for disaster mitigation and making schools and hospitals safer.

The delegates from each city also visited the centuries old heritage sites of Quito and Kathmandu to share their preservation and rehabilitation strategies, as well as their cultural heritage. For the current visit, Makati showcased the historical sites in Metro Manila to the delegates.

Also included in the agenda for the present study visit are the Makati Command Control and Communication Center or C3, which serves as a model communication and monitoring center by LGUs in the country; the disaster risk management of Makati; emergency operations plan; building code enforcement; risk sensitive land use planning; the protective services; and Makati Rescue and the barangay Rescue Units.

Other activities include an actual evacuation drill and site visits to the city’s safe school and hospital, private sector-led redevelopment projects, cultural sites, and the Makati Risk Sensitive Urban Redevelopment Project (MRSURP) in Barangay Rizal, among others.

A residency training was earlier held from April 16 to 20 wherein two delegates from Quito and two from Kathmandu learned about swiftwater rescue and training, hazardous materials rescue and decontamination, relocation and resettlement sites of Makati, redevelopment initiatives in the Central Business District, and MRSURP linear park construction beside a creek at Barangay Rizal.

The culminating event on April 27 will be attended by World Bank and GFDRR representatives, the private sector, business firms in Makati, City Hall heads and personnel, local and barangay elected officials, and officials from the NCR and the national government.

Meanwhile, specialists-consultants on Disaster Risk Management, Risk-Sensitive Land Use Planning, Emergency Management and Public Awareness Campaign have also joined the delegates for the duration of the study visit. (ICRD/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)