Philippines: Gov’t to finance increased resiliency to disasters
Manila – The government has earmarked P40-million fund for a four-year project that aims to increase the capacities of local government units (LGUs) through trainings and infrastructure projects to enable them to prepare for and manage disasters, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced today.
The fund allocation, which was released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Department, is in consonance with Republic Act 9729 or the Climate Change Act of 2009 which mandates the Department to facilitate the development and provision of a training program for LGUs on climate change, and RA 6716 which provides for the construction of water wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of existing water wells in all barangays.
DILG Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said the project dubbed as “Enhancing LGU Capacity on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management” intends to benefit 360 cities and municipalities all over the country to help build their resiliency to cope with and respond to natural disasters and adapt to climate change.
Robredo said that of the 360 LGUs, 120 municipalities will be assisted in mainstreaming disaster risk reduction and climate change in pre-disaster planning and infrastructure audit, while 240 other towns and cities will be provided access to credit financing for the construction of rainwater collection systems.
“Through this project, our disaster-prone LGUs will be more capable and ready to manage the consequences of disasters and the phenomenon associated with climate change,” he said.
The World Bank has ranked the Philippines as number eight among the countries in the world that are most exposed to natural disasters. The same report revealed that at least 60 percent of the total land area in the country is exposed to multiple hazards and as a result, 74% of the population is deemed vulnerable.
The project, which shall be implemented by the DILG’s Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD) and the Office of Project Development Services (OPDS), has two components namely, Building LGU Resiliency through Strengthening LGU planning capacities and structures in disaster preparedness and climate change; and Building LGU Critical Infrastructure Resiliency to disaster and climate change as well as in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.
“By the end of this project, we hope that there will be reduced disaster risk on human settlements, livelihood and infrastructure, and zero or less casualties and minimum damages to properties,” said Robredo, who is also the Vice-Chair for Disaster Preparedness under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
As Vice-Chair, the DILG is mandated to build the capacities of LGUs to effectively address and mitigate the impacts of disasters and calamities. (DILG-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)