The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is committed to providing timely and accurate information in times of emergency and disaster in the Philippines.

The assurance was given as the Office of the Press Secretary participated in the celebration of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction with other nations in October 2022.

The topic for the 2022 edition of International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is “raising the availability of access to early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessment,” the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) wrote in a Facebook post.

The statement said, “We at OPS and other agencies are committed to providing truthful and timely information regarding calamities to inform, educate, and warn the Filipino people in times of emergency and disaster.”

According to the official website of the United Nations (UN), the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) established October 13 of each year as the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction to encourage a global culture of disaster risk reduction.

The theme of 2022’s International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction is “significantly expand the availability and access to disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030.”

The announcement made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in March 2022 that the international organization “would spearhead new action to ensure every person on Earth is safeguarded by early warning systems within five years” increased the urgency with which the goal must be met.

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 Sendai Framework’s main objective is to prevent adding new risk and to lessen current risk.

To develop a consistent and well-coordinated response during disasters, President Marcos emphasized the importance of reviewing standard operating procedures (SOPs). Moreover, he advocated the prepositioning of water, generators, and satellite phones if an alarm is issued.

President Marcos likewise stressed the significance of utilizing airlift resources for disaster relief and enlisting engineers’ help in clearing operations and erecting temporary structures.

In addition, President Marcos also pushed for the passage of proposed legislation on the Mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) and National Service Training Program (NSTP), which aims to inspire, prepare, organize, and mobilize students for national defense preparedness, including disaster preparedness and capacity building for risk-related situations, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), delivered on July 25, 2022.

News link: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1186030