Local officials of the province of Leyte visited a barangay in Pasig City to learn from its exemplary disaster response and rescue programs.
After being recognized by the Galing Pook Awards for its Outstanding Local Governance Programs in Disaster Preparedness and Management in 2010, Barangay San Antonio (BSA) Chairman Raymond Lising said that it also paved the way for the barangay to become the inspiration of other local government units (LGUs) around the country in the creation of their own disaster-response procedures and ways in local governance.
On Sept. 15, 58 municipal officials of Julita, Leyte, led by Mayor Percival Caña, went to BSA to conduct benchmarking activities and learn from the barangay's disaster preparedness and management initiatives.
"We are delighted by your endeavor on the outstanding performance of all stakeholders for the disaster and security programs, management, and preparations of your city by strengthening the core of community resilience," Caña said in his letter to Lising.
"We are sure that this will be a great opportunity to us to learn about the field wherein you are contributing," he added.
On Sep. 27, officials from San Juan, Southern Leyte, led by Mayor Reynaldo Saludo, also visited BSA to learn from the barangay's expertise in preparing for and managing disasters such as typhoons.
"Recently, when typhoon Odette devastated our land and the whole province of Southern Leyte last December 12, 2022, millions or even billions of properties had been damaged, particularly our houses near the shorelines, farms, livelihood, and many more. We observed also that our capability in handling disaster is limited, particularly our barangay officials," Saludo said.
"Your government unit (GU) has been recommended as one of the best places to visit to share your knowledge in disaster management and preparedness. Your LGU has been working systematically for many years and we are inspired by your work," he added.
During their visit, the municipal officials and barangay heads of Julita, Leyte, and San Juan, Southern Leyte were given demonstrations of BSA's rescue equipment, a tour of the barangay's state-of-the art 24-Hour Command Center, and were given lecture on the Disaster Risk Reduction Management programs of the barangay.
"We are very happy to share our barangay’s best practices when it comes to disaster preparedness and management with other LGUs," Lising said.
"We hope that they will be able to imitate our projects in order for them to be prepared and effectively manage disasters in their areas," he added.
The chairman urged other LGUs who wish to learn the barangay's disaster-response programs and initiatives to come visit them.
"For the other LGUs that want to learn from us, all they have to do is coordinate with the barangay for us to set a date and give them a tour and teach them our ways of disaster preparedness and management," Lising said.