The Japan International Cooperation Agency will assist the Philippine government, through the Office of Civil Defense, in crafting policies that will help strengthen the country’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRMM) capacity. AP
MANILA, Philippines—The Japan International Cooperation Agency will assist the Philippine government, through the Office of Civil Defense, in crafting policies that will help strengthen the country’s disaster risk reduction and management (DRMM) capacity.
“Based on various disaster experiences of Japan, day-to-day communication between local government units and the national government is highly crucial in all phases of the disaster management process. With a well-organized DRRM plan, we expect to fill this gap between local governments in the Philippines and OCD,” said Hayato Nakamura, project formulation advisor for disaster management of Jica Philippines.
The bilateral agency is set to hold this week a workshop on disaster risk reduction and management as part of Jica’s technical assistance under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Capacity Enhancement Project.
The project was launched in March 2012 to assist the OCD in creating policies and implementing a disaster management plan.
The OCD implements measures to reduce risks and manage the consequences of disasters.
Region II, or the Cagayan Valley, was identified last year as the pilot area for the project.
A project proponent earlier proposed the river basin approach promoted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The river basin approach, which includes setting up a reliable flood warning system in major rivers and watersheds throughout the country, was identified by the government as a responsive measure against natural disasters.
Thus, participants in the workshop scheduled this week are expected to learn how to proceed with the next steps based on what happened in Region II.
Enhancing the government’s disaster risk reduction and management capacity is critical for the country. Situated right in the typhoon belt of the Pacific, the Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons each year, destroying hundreds of billions of pesos worth of property.