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Saturday, May 28, 2022

The importance of Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management


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A person's safety during calamities is mainly dependent on their community's disaster preparedness. No matter how ready they are for all possible catastrophic scenarios, every bit of preparation can go down the drain if their community cannot respond effectively to such events.

It is why a community-based disaster risk reduction and management plan (CBDRRMP) is essential. It places the responsibility of being prepared for calamities and other emergencies on the community as a whole, ensuring that organizations, households and individuals can work together in making their community more resilient in the face of disaster.



CBDRRMP is important, especially for countries highly vulnerable to disasters, such as the Philippines. Situated within the Pacific Ring of Fire and typhoon belt, the Philippines is frequented by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and typhoons respectively. The country ranked 9th in the world in terms of vulnerability to calamities in the 2020 World Risk Index.

One of the most common events experienced by the Philippines is flooding, which underscores the importance of effective floodwater management. There are many ways that local government units are doing this. Efforts range from structural measures such as sizeable underground drainage systems, floodways, pumping stations, flood warning systems, and urban greening to non-structural measures such as minimizing plastic waste, a primary culprit in urban flooding.

With the country situated on five active fault lines, Filipinos must also prepare for earthquakes. It is why many buildings are equipped with earthquake-resistance features. Taking earthquake resilience in the country further are the periodic earthquake drills implemented at the national and organizational levels.

These are good examples of effective CBDRR, where both the authorities and the citizens work together to ensure the safety of life and property in their communities.

SM City Masinag has a rainwater collection tank that can store 17,681 cubic meters of water.

As a trusted and responsible developer of integrated properties, SM has always been committed to promoting Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in its communities, which is evident in many of its malls that employ infrastructure design centered on disaster resilience. SM allocates 10% of its capital expenditures to incorporate disaster-resilient features, of which installing water management design features is one of them.

Artist's illustration of SM's rainwater collection facility in 22 SM Malls nationwide.

A few examples of these are SM City Marikina, elevated by several rows of concrete stilts to protect tenants and mall-goers during extreme floods. SM Mall of Asia was built with a storm surge barrier for added protection during storm surges, and several malls employ catchment tanks for recycling rainwater.

Across the country, there are 22 SM Malls that have rainwater collection tanks under the mall. All these malls combined can catch and store 79,880 cubic meters of rainwater, equivalent to 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

“Wherever SM is, we try to help our communities become resilient to changing weather patterns,” explains Arch. Fides Garcia-Hsu, Vice President of SM Engineering, Design and Development. “Nationwide, we have 22 malls equipped with rainwater catchment facilities that help rain water management to avoid flash floods for surrounding communities.”

SM City Olongapo Central's rainwater collection tank can hold up to 14,580 cubic meters of water.

Supporting these are several initiatives focused capacity-building for its stakeholders. It includes workshops & learning sessions on Disaster Risk Resilience Management and regular participation in the quarterly national simultaneous earthquake drills for its employees, and the annual Emergency Preparedness Forum for persons with disabilities and the elderly, two of the most vulnerable sectors of society during disasters.

Similarly, in line with its multi-stakeholder approach, SM Prime has also continuously built long-term partnerships with organizations that advocate for a disaster-resilient Philippines. It includes collaborations with ARISE-Philippines, the National Resilience Council, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Office of Civil Defense, and the Bureau of Fire Protection, to name a few.

SM City San Mateo's rainwater collection tank can collect 10,800 cubic meters of potential floodwater.


ABOUT SM PRIME HOLDINGS

SM Prime, one of the leading integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, remains committed to its role as a catalyst for economic growth, delivering innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities, thereby enriching the quality of life of millions of people. Sustainability and Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience form part of SM Prime's core business strategies. It ensures that its risk-informed investments catalyze sustainable development and positive change in the communities where it operates.

For more information on SM Prime Holdings and its other programs towards disaster preparedness, visit their website at www.smprime.com.

PLDT Enterprise activates BEYOND FIBER connectivity to Odiongan, Romblon


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PLDT Enterprise partners with the municipal government of Odiongan, Romblon to provide free BEYOND FIBER connectivity to support the daily online activities of its employees and constituents.

IN PHOTO (L-R): Orven Oyonque, Junior Manager of PLDT Regional Customer Development Luzon; Rene Anthony Santiago, AVP and Center Head of PLDT Regional Customer Development, Trina Firmalo-Fabic, Odiongan, Romblon Municipal Mayor; Euan Rex D. Toralballa, PLDT Enterprise Head of SMBiz Regional Luzon; and Nerwin Tan, CEO of K&WIN Telco.


PLDT Enterprise, the B2B arm of the country’s largest fully integrated telecommunications provider PLDT, has extended its BEYOND FIBER solution to Odiongan, Romblon municipal government in its bid to aid its delivery of online public services.

Vic Tria, PLDT Enterprise First Vice President and Enterprise Revenue Group Head, said that the group will provide three-month free BEYOND FIBER connectivity to Odiongan Municipal Hall which will enable its employees to complete their online undertakings efficiently.

“A robust internet connection is essential to our government offices to facilitate the swift transmission of data and also the delivery of our government services. Our BEYOND FIBER solution is the perfect technology we offer to Odiongan, Romblon municipal government as it is designed to provide fast and superior reliability for their operations,” said Tria.

Likewise, PLDT Enterprise Vice President for Small and MicroBiz Chito Franco said that the initiative will also benefit the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) within the vicinity.

“Aside from the online processes of our government employees, this free connectivity will also support the online operations of the businesses around the area. We are delighted to provide this service as this will enable them to be always connected and be more efficient to grow their businesses,” Franco shared.

Meanwhile, Euan Rex D. Toralballa, PLDT Enterprise Head of SMBiz Regional Luzon, also noted that the company has been committed to providing technological solutions, such as BEYOND FIBER, to enable local and municipal government units to bolster their online capabilities.

“It is one of our imperatives in PLDT Enterprise to empower municipalities as they embrace digital transformation to power their online processes. PLDT Enterprise is committed to assisting them through their journey in empowering a digitally-enabled environment to improve their delivery of public services to their constituents,” said Toralballa.

Recently, the group also rolled out a fiber optic facility in the municipality which covers nine barangays as of now.

BEYOND FIBER is an all-in-one digital solution anchored on business-grade fiber that supports the digital operations of offices, businesses, and remote work employees.

It features the 90-90 Advantage, where users can get a boosted minimum speed of 90 percent of their subscribed speed at 90 percent reliability, providing uninterrupted online transactions to organizations while eliminating the fear of internet slowdown during peak working hours.

This means users can get a minimum of 90 Mbps at 90 percent reliability for their 100 Mbps subscription.

For more information, visit pldtenterprise.com.

Friday, May 27, 2022

Save the Children Philippines wins UN SASAKAWA Award for Disaster Risk Reduction


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Save the Children Philippines wins the prestigious UN SASAKAWA Award for its innovative programs on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) that support Filipino children’s meaningful participation and protection from emergencies.

The 2022 UN SASAKAWA Award, which promotes inclusive and accessible DRR practices in line with the Sendai Framework, recognized Save the Children’s Comprehensive School Safety (CSS) Ecosystems and Quality Assurance System (QAS) programs that have been rolled out to more than 21,000 schools and 12,000 barangays, respectively, to ensure that the vital needs of children, schools, and communities are addressed with responsive programs and accountability from the government.

“Save the Children envisions a world where children are protected every day and in times of crisis. It is essential that we strengthen our work to improve risk reduction and response mechanisms to protect children’s rights to survival, education, and protection, and build community resilience,” Atty. Alberto Muyot, Save the Children Philippines CEO said.

Marlon Matuguina, Program Manager for Risk Reduction and Resilience in Education and Governance, received the award on behalf of the child rights organization.

The Philippines ranked ninth in the 2020 World Risk Index and 17th in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index among countries most affected by extreme weather events, natural disasters, and numerous complex emergencies due to armed conflict.

In response, Save the Children Philippines’ CSS Ecosystems program uses technology to help develop the Department of Education’s DRR information system by combining digital tools for data collection, analysis, planning, and decision-making.

This includes the Rapid Assessment of Damages Report (RADaR) Mobile App, a reporting mechanism which assesses the needs of schools, personnel, and learners, and the Batang Empowered and Resilient Team (BERT), a peer-to-peer capacity building program empowering children to participate in school and community DRR programs and engage with government/ duty-bearers. The program has already trained 10,000 learners.

Meanwhile, Save the Children’s QAS supports risk-informed and responsive Barangay DRRM plans through standardized planning tools, quality benchmarks, and technology for data consolidation and info-sharing. More than 42,000 barangays will be using QAS for their DRRM template.

Save the Children Philippines works with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and other government agencies for the QAS for Barangay DRRM Planning, and with the DepEd and Prudence Foundation for the CSS Ecosystems program.

Marc Fancy, Executive Director of Prudence Foundation said: “Prudence Foundation is delighted that Save the Children Philippines has been recognized with the prestigious UN SASAKAWA Award for its innovative efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction in the Philippines. This is a great reflection of the many years and effort towards building resilience in Disaster Risk Reduction across the Philippines, and a journey that Prudence Foundation has been proud to have supported and partnered on together with the Department of Education in the Philippines.”

For over 40 years, Save the Children Philippines has been delivering life-saving programs for and with children. The child rights organization remains committed to empower children through its DRRM programs and mechanisms, and in ensuring better informed, prepared, and resilient communities.


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