The Department of the Interior and Local Government-National Capital Region (DILG-NCR) has teamed up with the Metro Manila Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change Resilience Network to further enhance the disaster response mechanism of the Metro Manila local government units (LGUs).
Through the Upscaling Plans for Resilient Urban Governance (UPSURGE), the DILG-NCR convened with the Project Governance for Resilience on Adaptive Social Protection (GRASP) and Metro Manila Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change Resilience Network together with their development planners and key regional stakeholders in collating inputs on the risk-informed governance policy agenda and roadmap for 2025.
Emphasizing the significant role of the local development planning offices in the region in addressing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) challenges, DILG-NCR Assistant Regional Director Ana Lyn R. Baltazar-Cortez urged the local planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) office representatives, line agency partners and key actors to commit to the highest standards of good governance, accountability, and people-centered service delivery through advance risk governance and planning.
“With risk-informed planning at the core of local governance, today’s Tri-Conference 2024 brings forward the integration of resilience-building strategies that address short and long-term challenges faced by the region. This can range from the overwhelming pace of urbanization to the increasing frequency and intensity of weather events up to the compounded effects of poverty, unemployment, informal settlements, and waste pollution among others,” Baltazar-Cortez said.
The DILG noted that key stakeholders and national government sector partners from various agencies shared their expertise and presented their respective topics about innovative strategies in DRR, evacuation management systems, etc.
Marda Alina Dumaong-Acoba and Mervin Angelo Tumada, from the DILG-NCR Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division (LGMED), gave an overview of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) 2024 and Gawad Kalasag results and key lessons.
The two LGMED officers also shared the challenges and gaps identified in the monitoring of the indicators, to understand how the local planners can formulate solutions to the lagging indicators.
Carlo Soriano from the Office of the Civil Defense also discussed the salient features of the newly-signed Republic Act (RA) No. 12076 or the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act which requires the LGUs to coordinate with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ensure the safety and integrity of evacuation centers.
DILG-NCR Acting Division chief Luigi Pilarta lauded the participants’ collective commitment to advancing DRR. DC Pilarta also encouraged participants to utilize the lessons learned to accelerate resilience-building efforts across Metro Manila.
The Tri-Conference 2024 brought together three important events of the DILG-NCR, the Post-Seal of Good and Local Governance (SGLG) Symposium, the 2nd NCR Annual Local Planners’ Colloquium, and the 1st Metro Manila Risk Governance Summit to advance risk governance and build sustainable communities in the metro.