The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) urged the public to take a more proactive role in strengthening the disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts being done by the government in line with the observance of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) 2020 on Tuesday, Oct. 13. 

OCD Administrator Ricardo Jalad said community participation is very important in ensuring that the public is well-prepared in times of disasters and calamities.

“Our commitment to advance policies and programs to reduce the numbers of disaster-affected people continues, likewise, our call for community engagement in these efforts,” he stated.

The OCD is the implementing arm of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), a government body mandated to supervise its DRR policies.

The Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean which is home to 75 percent of the world's volcanoes and 90 percent of its earthquakes.

The country is also visited by more than 20 storms every year since it lies along a typhoon belt in the Pacific Ocean.

“This year’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is all about governance,” said Mami Mizutori, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, in a statement.

Mizutori noted that the efficiency of the country’s disaster risk governance can be measured in the lives saved, reduced numbers of affected people, and reduced economic losses every time a calamity strikes.

Even the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate emergency, according to her, are indicators “that we need clear vision, plans, and competent, empowered institutions acting on scientific evidence for public good.”

“Good national and local strategies for disaster risk reduction must be multi-sectoral linking policies in areas such as land use, building codes, public health, education, agriculture, environmental protection, energy, water resources, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation,” she said.

Last week, the OCD launched an information campaign on IDDRR to raise awareness on the importance of public engagement in disaster risk reduction.