DILG-8 marks 2nd anniversary of Yolanda with disaster management summit and launching of BBB operations manual

By MYLES JOSEPH E. COLASITO
November 4, 2015

TACLOBAN CITY – Governors, mayors, local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) officers, member agencies of the Regional DRRM Council, the media and other stakeholders in disaster management will meet on November 6, 2015 in Tacloban City to discuss lessons and initiatives to promote resilience among communities two years after Super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Eastern Visayas said that the DRRM Summit will serve to formally introduce the Build Back Better (BBB) Operations Manual produced by the department with the help of the Australian government.

Dir. Noval thanked the team of engineers, building managers and local planners from the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) based mainly at the DILG Regional Office in Tacloban City and at the DILG Central Office, who worked with DILG for ten months on the BBB Operations Manual. They studied Philippine building laws, international standards, conducting consultations, training of training of trainers and joining site inspections of ongoing Recovery Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) projects of DILG.

“We believe that the BBB Manual if rigorously observed by LGUs, national government and those in local planning and construction, can help ensure safer communities against natural calamities,” said Dir. Noval.

The BBB Manual shares insights on what worked and what could have been done better in light of previous disasters. The four modules of the BBB Operations Manual comprehensively detail various stages of post-disaster recovery: Pre and Post Event Infrastructure Assessment, Project Scope, Detailed Design, Documentation Development and Verification, and Construction Quality.

Dir. Noval revealed that Josefina Castilla-Go, DILG Assistant Secretary for Operations, Plans and Programs, will be the Keynote Speaker of the DRRM Summit which will start at 9:00 AM at the Leyte Park Hotel in Tacloban.

Among those who will be sharing their local government’s experience on preparedness, recovery and rehabilitation will be Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla, Ormoc City Mayor Edward C. Codilla and Mayor Christopher Sheen Gonzales of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

The event will also serve to launch and show highlights of the Coffee Table Book “After the Storm” on the DILG RAY project. The book features stories of residents and officials of local governments severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda and relates their road to recovery.

OCD Acting Regional Director Dr. Edgar L. Posadas will apprise participants of the regional DRRM Situationer. Further, DILG will share the results of the Core Indicators on DRRM under its Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).