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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider PH, Ukraine share best practices on disaster preparedness, emergency response

PH, Ukraine share best practices on disaster preparedness, emergency response

Published Jun 7, 2025 01:49 pm
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno (right) meets officials from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Philippines led by Ukraine Ambassador to the Philippines Yuliia Fediv (second from right) during their courtesy visit to the OCD Central Office at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on June 5, 2025. (Photo: OCD)
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno (right) meets officials from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Philippines led by Ukraine Ambassador to the Philippines Yuliia Fediv (second from right) during their courtesy visit to the OCD Central Office at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on June 5, 2025. (Photo: OCD)

The Philippines and Ukraine have taken a significant step toward strengthening international cooperation in disaster preparedness and emergency response by sharing best practices in civil defense during a high-level dialogue this week.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno met Ukraine Ambassador to the Philippines Yuliia Fediv during her courtesy visit to the OCD Central Office at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on June 5 where they exchanged insights on civil defense, community preparedness, and the use of early warning systems.

During the meeting, Nepomuceno acknowledged the importance of international knowledge exchange in strengthening local disaster risk reduction (DRR) frameworks. 

“Learning from the experiences of other countries is valuable as we continue to improve our strategies in preparedness, response, and protection of communities,” Nepomuceno said in a statement Friday, June 6.

 Meanwhile, Fediv focused on the use of technology by Ukraine as she shared her country’s approach to using mobile applications to issue real-time alerts to the public.

She said this provided early information about potential threats and guided individuals to safe locations.

She said Ukraine’s systems were developed in collaboration with technology partners as part of broader efforts to improve emergency communications.

She emphasized the role of community engagement in civil defense and shared her takes on public participation in preparedness and response initiatives.

The Ukrainian envoy noted the strong cooperation between government institutions and civil society as a key component of effective civil defense systems.

Fediv offered to connect Philippine agencies with counterparts in Ukraine for technical exchanges on civil defense strategies. 

She also expressed interest in understanding the Philippines’ disaster preparedness and humanitarian response mechanisms.

The meeting took place as Ukraine continues to confront its ongoing conflict with Russia. In 2022, Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Kyiv, resulting in massive loss of lives and destruction of properties.

The latest development showed Russia reportedly launching a drone and missile strike on Kyiv and other areas on Friday, killing at least five people and injuring 80 others.

This was seen as a retaliation to Ukraine’s drone strike on Russian military bases days before, which destroyed at least 40 Russian warplanes.

The Philippines is forging closer cooperation with Ukraine in several areas, such as defense.

Last June 1, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. also met with Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defence Oleksandr Kozenko in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.

 Kozenko said that Ukraine will assign a defense attaché to the Philippines as part of efforts to develop bilateral defense cooperation.

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