Public-private partnership for ‘resilient Philippines’ formalized at NRC board meeting

The National Resilience Council (NRC) Board Meeting was recently held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. Seen in photo are (middle, seated) NRC Co-Chairs Mr. Hans Sy and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, NRC President Ms. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, NRC Vice Chairs Edgar Chua, Fr. Jett Villarin and Usec. Nestor Quinsay, SM Prime and NRC officials and representatives from national government agencies and local government units.

In an effort to build a resilient Philippines through science and technology, partnership agreements were signed during the quarterly National Resilience Council (NRC) board meeting held recently at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

During the board meeting, partnership agreements were formalized between NRC and the Bataan Peninsula State University, represented by its president, Dr. Gregorio J. Rodis; and AIRSPEED International, represented by its president Rosemarie Rafael.

NRC President Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga discussed the milestones of NRC from 2017 to 2018, which are aligned with the four priority areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction namely: Understanding Disaster Risk; Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance to Manage Disaster Risk; Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience; and lastly, Enhancing Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response and to “Build Back Better” in Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.

Hans T. Sy, NRC co-chair for the private sector, commended the NRC for pursuing the information and education campaign for various stakeholders to understand risk and resilience. He also emphasized the need to push for investments in resilience among the private sector in partnership with the government.

Meanwhile, NRC co-chair for the government Department of National Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana emphasized the importance of the partnership between the government and the private sector to work on improving the disaster preparedness in the country. Some priorities for action regarding the Sendai Framework that were discussed include the orientation sessions on understanding risk and resilience, private sector investments, exploring collaboration with NEDA and DFA on prevention, recovery, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Ambassador Roberto Romulo, NRC Convenor, highlighted the challenge posed by the “Big One” and emphasized the importance of government and private sector collaborating to develop more concrete action points.

NRC’s public-private partnership agreements also extend to partnerships with National Government Agencies (NGAs) and local government units. NRC, together with local chief executives from its partner local government units such as the province of Bataan and the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Iriga, Naga, Ormoc, Valenzuela and Zamboanga, recently launched its resilience program at the recent Top Leaders Forum 2018. The forum was held shortly after the NRC board meeting.

NRC is targeting to enhance internal capacities of local government units through evidence-informed risk governance, and strengthen and sustain high-level collaboration between NGAs and industry. It is looking at a two-track, three-year Resiliency Program consisting of Leadership and Governance and Science-and-Technology tracks.

NRC’s Major Partners are SM Prime Holdings, San Miguel Corporation, Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, Manila Observatory, Ateneo de Manila University, Zuellig Family Foundation and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

ADVT