PRESS RELEASE Office of Civil Defense Region IV-A (CALABARZON) National Disaster Consciousness Month 2013 Annually, July has been the avenue for the implementation of National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM) devoted to raise awareness among individuals regarding disaster preparedness and management, enliven through this year’s theme: “LIGTAS NA BAYAN, MAUNLAD NA PAMAYANAN” expected to inform and drive everybody that “Disaster risk reduction should be an everyday concern for everybody.” The observance is declared under Executive Order No. 137 on August 10, 1999, which the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council IV-A (RDRRMC IV-A hereinafter “Council”) and Local DRRMCs conduct month-long events consist of series of initiatives and programs. The ongoing attention to national security and natural disasters has lead us to advance to a firmer direction for disaster risk reduction and management – as defined in the CALABARZON’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (RDRRMP) vision - a “Safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities in CALABARZON”. The time is ripe to fully implement these measures laid down in the RDRRMP and pursue sustainable economic growth, and a sincere and resilient development. It is estimated that the chances of future extreme events would be much higher than what we are experiencing today because of the changes that continue to occur in our climate patterns. Hence, we must ensure that both the national and local government prioritizes all the disaster prevention and mitigation strategies. However, progress towards climate change adaptation in government agencies depends on political commitment and institutional capacity, reflected through worthy and feasible policies and strategies geared toward consideration of disaster risk reduction and long-term changes in risk. In recent years, climate change has posed fresh new challenges to our fellow countrymen. Prioritization of climate change is likely to be closely interconnected with prioritization of disaster risk reduction, and there is some evidence that the political attention has been raised by recent disasters such as Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) (2009) and Typhoon Habagat (2012). In this recognition, the Council has scheduled a Summit on DRRM and CCA for Local Chief Executives of CALABARZON on July 16-17, 2013. Also, July marks the start of the typhoon season in the Philippines, however, this month holds greater significance on the Annual Calendar of the Council as it is the time when the RDRRMC IV-A seeks to focus the public’s attention on natural disasters and climate change issues that commonly affect us. In keeping with this year’s NDCM theme, the Council seeks to promote the building of ‘community resilience’ as a major priority in the DRR strategy in the most vulnerable communities across CALABARZON. Its battle cry ‘Sariling Kaligtasan… Pangalagaan… Paghandaan’ has been a major strategy wherein through increased knowledge, experience, and its gradual improvement has yielded significant results. Since its institutionalization, the Council has collaborated with agency partners, Regional Line Agencies, LGUs, CSOs, Private Sector, Academe, and the media to mitigate and reduce disaster risks whilst implementing coping mechanisms throughout several communities in order to build their resilience to natural disasters and climate change. The Council’s member agencies are committed to utilize all its resources in an effort to promote a culture of safety and build CALABARZON’s capacity to cope. RDRRMC IV-A encourages all Government Agencies, Local Government Units, Civil Society Organization, Private Sector, Academe and the media to join in this initiative and be wisely counseled by the words of Plato which states that: “Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women, not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the State, instead of being whole is reduced to half”. RDRRMC IV-A urge everyone’s continued support and encourage all to work our CALABAZON Region in its efforts to thrive, withstand and preserve itself against all adversities.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Jul 2013 09:23:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015