Wanted: Good governance in local disaster management

NAGA, Camarines Sur – Like politics, all good disaster management is local. And some local government units are showing the way.

Mayors, disaster managers, and advocates from 33 towns across 8 regions gather in Naga City starting Sunday until Monday, October 12 and 13, to help each in building disaster-resilient communities.  

“Disasters go beyond political boundaries, and would thus need multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary interventions, stressed Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD), which organized the event.

“Through coordinated action, LGUs can better address the roots of disaster risks across their common ecosystems and landscapes,” the group added.

Infrastructure is not enough

LGUs have both the mandate and the resources to secure the lives and livelihoods of their communities. (Conference Program: Ugnayan at Bahaginan: Building Resilience through Good Governance)

But ACCORD emphasized the need to strengthen the capacity of LGUS in implementing DRR programs so that they are better able to fulfil their mandate.

“It has also become clear that traditional, infrastructure-based approaches to DRR would simply not suffice,” ACCORD said in a statement.

Dubbed, Ugnayan at Bahaginan (Linkaging and Sharing), the conference seeks to promote governance practices that integrate local disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts with climate change adaptation and ecosystems management and restoration.

Speakers

Invited speakers will highlight how various stakeholders can coordinate to have a single effective strategy in reducing the vulnerability of communities as a whole. 

Ma Josefa Arndt of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Region V and Mayor Ed Severo of Calabanga in Camarines Sur will deliver the keynote messages.

Other speakers will tackle the following themes:

Resilient Livelihoods/Livelihoods as Small-scale Mitigation Measure

• Analyn Bernal, Project Officer, Agri-Aqua Development Coalition – Mindanao
• Robin Pel-ingen, Barangay Captain, Kayan West, Tadian, Mt. Province

Public Awareness, Advocacy, Civic Action

• Voltaire Tupaz, MovePH coordinator and Rappler multimedia reporter
• Melchor Macabalitao, Councilor, Brgy Potrero, Malabon City

Risk Assessment

• Ma. Stella Dulce, Consultant, ACCORD

Mainstreaming in Development Planning

• Atty Rico Rentuza, Board of Directors, ACCORD
• Angela Mamuyac, DILG (Bureau of Local Government Development)

Mainstreaming in Humanitarian Response

• Mayor Wilbert Igoy, Malinao, Aklan
• Mayor Lesmes Lumen, La Paz, Leyte

Applying Landscape Approach in Early Warning System

• Rosalie Pagulayan, PAGASA Weather Specialist II

Participants 

Participants include representatives from towns of Leyte that are recovering from the devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and urban areas that experience flooding like Malabon City.

“Such diversity would be valuable in the exchange of lessons and synthesis of experiences during the conference, which can help LGUs further upgrade their DRR strategies and programs,” ACCORD said.

ACCORD organized the conference in cooperation with CARE Nederland and Camarines Sur LGUs including Calabanga, Bombon, Magarao, and Canaman.

The event is supported by the Partners for Resilience alliance, the Dutch Cooperating Aid Agencies, and the European Commission’s humanitarian aid, and civil protection department. – Rappler.com