By Emmanuel d. Taghoy
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay – “With the recent phenomenon that transpired in our country, it is but a sad reality that the world is undergoing a lot of changes. But searching deep within our hearts, are we prepared for a disaster as destructive as Yolanda?”
This was the question posed by Dr. Emilia V. Julhajan, officer-in charge of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-9 and chairperson of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC)-9, during the provincial summit on disaster risk reduction management for local chief executives (LCEs) held on May 20-21 at Roderic’s Resort this town.
In an interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Doctor Julhajan said that the RDRRMC-9 has “intended to widely spread information on disaster management all throughout Zamboanga Peninsula region through provincial summits.”
“The provincial summit on DRRM aims to ensure that we are able to cascade our message up to the grassroots level and fully explain, if not answer, all those questions that are related to the provisions of Republic Act 10121 also known as Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010,” she said.
Julhajan explained that among the key players in the operation of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System (PDRRMS) are the LCEs and their Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (LDRRMOs).
“Their task is to formulate and implement a comprehensive and integrated Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (LDRRMP) that will facilitate and support risk assessments and hazard-specific multi-sector contingency planning activities,” she explained.
“The general objective of the provincial summit is to come up with the comprehensive and standard understanding of the DRRM roles and responsibilities of the local chief executives for efficient delivery of government services.”
Also attending the summit were Regional Director Delfin P. Aguilar of the Commission on Audit (COA)-9, who discussed accounting and reporting guidelines for the local disaster risk reduction and management fund, and Atty. Nilda J. Cemine, assistant regional director of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)-9 for the allocation and utilization of the LDRRM fund.
Julhajan also expressed her gratitude to the LCEs for their support and active participation in the summit.
Zamboanga Sibugay is the third and the last province in Zamboanga Peninsula region that the RDRRMC will conduct the Provincial DRRM Summit.