PH committed to enforce Sendai disaster response framework: DILG

DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. (left) and UNDRR Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific chief Marco Toscano-Rivalta (right). (Photo: DILG Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA – The Philippines is committed to implement all actions needed to achieve the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015 to 2030.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. made the assurance during the recent courtesy call of United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific chief Marco Toscano-Rivalta.

“Governments and states should work together and act with dispatch on disaster risks and climate change issues. The Philippines takes these issues seriously and vows to prioritize actions on the Sendai Framework,” Abalos said in a statement Friday.

The Sendai Framework provides member states with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster. It recognizes that the state has the primary role to reduce disaster risk, but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders, including local government units (LGUs).

It was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015, an outcome of stakeholder consultations initiated in March 2012 and inter-governmental negotiations from July 2014 to March 2015 as supported by the UNDRR at the request of the UN General Assembly.

Abalos said the Philippine government, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, launched the Sendai Framework Monitoring in March 2018 to monitor and track the progress of the implementation of the targets and priorities of the Sendai Framework.

A technical working group was created, of which the DILG is a member, to address data gaps and propose measures to streamline available data for SFDRR reporting.

On the part of the DILG, Abalos said the agency will provide LGUs with capacity development interventions continuously to strengthen their implementation of DRRM policies and plans; strengthen local leadership governance; empower communities; highlight local DRR practices for replication; and emphasize all available science including indigenous knowledge.

During the courtesy visit, Abalos shared updates on the country’s preparations for the Philippines’ hosting of the 2024 Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR).

The APMCDRR is the primary regional forum for strengthening DRR coordination and cooperation in Asia and the Pacific and putting the Sendai Framework into effect.