The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) briefed on Friday, August 12, the new leaders of the member-agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to familiarize them with the country’s disaster response and early recovery system.
“The orientation served as a refresher for the newly-designated disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) focal persons who will be sitting as members of the response cluster,” said OCD Administrator Raymundo Ferrer.
OCD Administrator for Operations Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV discussed to the participants the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management PDRRM System, a comprehensive and community-based framework which details the most effective approaches to disaster risk management.
The orientation also included presentations about various hazards namely hydrometeorological hazards by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa); rain-induced landslides by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB); and geological hazards by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).
It also tackled disaster response mechanism in times of calamities such as the use of incident command system, the roles and responsibilities of the NDRRMC’s response cluster, and early recovery requirements.
Located at the Pacific Ring of Fire and Typhoon Belt, the country is often hit by various natural calamities such as typhoons, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
The NDRRMC was established in 2010 to ensure the protection and welfare of the people during disasters or emergencies.
It has over 30 member-agencies and is headed by the Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) as chairperson; Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as vice chairperson for disaster preparedness; Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for disaster prevention and mitigation; Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as vice chairperson for disaster response; and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as vice chairperson for rehabilitation and recovery.