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PBBM assures ‘factual, prompt’ delivery of disaster risk info
MANILA — The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is committed to providing timely and accurate information in times of emergency and disaster, Malacañang said on Thursday.
The assurance came as the Office of the Press Secretary joined the international community in commemorating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
“The Office of the Press Secretary joins the observance of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction with the theme of increasing the availability of access to early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessment,” the OPS said in a Facebook post.
“We at OPS and other agencies are committed to delivering factual and prompt information about calamities to inform, educate, and warn the Filipino people in times of emergency and disaster,” it added.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated October 13 of every year as International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction to promote a global culture of disaster risk reduction, according to the United Nations (UN) official website.
This year’s celebration of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction focuses on the goal to “substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030.”
The urgency to achieve the target was strengthened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ announcement in March 2022 that the international body “will spearhead new action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within five years.”
The International Day declaration serves as an opportunity to acknowledge the progress on disaster risk reduction initiatives that are being undertaken, in line with Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted in March 2015.
The observance of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is being observed amid the UNGA’s midterm review of the Sendai Framework.
The midterm review will conclude at the UNGA’s high-level meeting in May 2023 with the adoption of a “concise and action-oriented” political declaration to accelerate the implementation of the framework.
The Sendai Framework has seven strategic targets and 38 indicators for measuring progress on reducing disaster risk and losses.
The primary goal of the Sendai Framework is to avoid creating new and reduce existing risk.
In August, Marcos stressed the need to review standard operating procedures (SOPs) to create a uniform and coordinated approach during disasters.
He also sought the prepositioning of satellite phones, generators and water once an alert is raised.
Marcos also cited the importance of using airlift assets for disaster response and seeking engineers’ assistance in clearing operations and building temporary structures.
In his first State of the Nation Address delivered on July 25, Marcos also pushed for the passage of the proposed legislation on Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and National Service Training Program which aims to motivate, train, organize and mobilize students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations.