By Jerry E. Esplanada |Philippine Daily Inquirer
A UN
official has described Manila as “a big challenge” when it comes to
handling natural disasters, because of the “scale and multitude of risks
facing it."
“Actually, any big city like Manila is a
challenge,” said Margareta Wahlström, who heads the UN Office for
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).
Interviewed during the just-concluded 6th
Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, or AMCDRR, in
the Thai capital, Wahlstrom said Manila as a local government unit (LGU)
was “a tough issue… because of very important responsibilities
delegated to it by the national government.”
While the national government had “the right
DRR-related policies,” the UN official said that “some LGUs do not have
enough technical capability to implement these policies.”
Strengthening these LGUs would put the
Philippines “in a very good space,” said Wahlström, who serves as UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s special representative for disaster risk
reduction.
Manila could also adopt “some best practices
by model local governments like Albay and Cebu,” Wahlstrom said, adding
that the city government and other Philippine LGUs should “enhance
disaster resilience programs at the local level” by strengthening the
role of women, children, the youth and persons with disabilities in
disaster risk reduction planning and management.
LGUs could also “increase public investments
on DRR and promote the use of science and technology in disaster risk
reduction programs.”
In a report, the Geneva-based UN
International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) cited Makati
City, Albay province, as well as San Francisco town on Camotes Island
in Cebu for their “best practices” on a wide range of DRR-related
challenges, including early warning, legislation and food management.
Makati made it to the list for its
“sophisticated and efficient disaster risk management system,” which has
fully institutionalized disaster risk reduction, preparedness and
emergency management (into) dedicated organizations, (with) direct
funding at the local level.
Disaster risk reduction in Makati has been
“integrated into urban planning, health, disaster response and risk
governance at different government levels,” according to the report.
It added that Makati also “engages all
levels of society, particularly barangays (villages), which conduct
regular community dialogues to discuss risk management issues.”
Albay’s disaster risk reduction strategy “centers on relocating businesses and more than 10,000 households.”
