The National Resilience Council (NRC) attended the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (UNDRR) 2019 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019), where NRC had several opportunities to share its resilience work with representatives of member states, parliamentarians, local governments, UN bodies, intergovernmental organizations and other stakeholder groups.
Held from May 13 to 17 in Geneva, Switzerland, GP2019 was the last global session before achieving Target E of the Sendai Framework: Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. UNDRR organizes the Global Platform every two years as a chance to evaluate programs and initiatives, share knowledge on and discuss the progress and trends in disaster risk reduction (DRR).
High Level Dialogue session during GP2019. Photo by UNDRR.
Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) International Board Member, SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman and NRC Co-Chair for Private Sector, Mr. Hans Sy, was a panelist in the May 14 session on “Building the resilience of MSMEs to climate and disaster risk” during Private Sector Day. It tackled the needs of MSMEs in relation to climate and disaster resilience building, as well as addressed the bigger picture of MSMEs supporting and investing in disaster resilience.
SM Prime Executive Committee Chaiman and NRC Co-Chair Hans Sy during the session entitled “Building the resilience of MSMEs to climate and disaster risk” during Private Sector Day.
Mr. Sy also spoke in the May 16 High Level Dialogue session on “Risk-Informed Public and Private Investments”. It was an opportunity to share best practices and explore approaches to coming up with good risk-informed and multi-dividend investments. During the session, Mr. Sy highlighted SM Prime’s investments to resilience and the work of NRC in reducing security risk by addressing informal settlement issues in Metro Manila.
NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, meanwhile, spoke in a session on “Contextualizing the Science and Technology Roadmap” at the Science and Policy Forum. The session aimed to encourage participants in adopting and contributing to the revised “Science and Technology Roadmap to support the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030”, a roadmap developed during the January 2016 Science and Technology Conference in Geneva.
NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga served as a panelist for a session on “Contextualizing the Science and Technology Roadmap” at the Science and Policy Forum. Photo by IISD/ENB | Angeles Estrada
On the same day, Ms. Loyzaga participated as a panelist at an interactive discussion on “Mechanisms for Impact: Identifying Modalities towards Successful SEM” at the Stakeholder Forum. The session allowed participants to share and learn good practices from initiatives around the world with a multi-sectoral approach to disaster risk reduction and resilience. SEM, or the Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism, is a UNDRR initiative that aims to foster closer engagement among stakeholders in the implementation of the Sendai Framework, while also linking itself to other processes with similar mechanisms.
Ms. Yulo Loyzaga presented NRC’s work at the ARISE Annual General Meeting.
Ms. Yulo Loyzaga served as a panelist during the Stakeholder Forum.
UNDRR’s first Synthesis and Analysis Report of the Sendai Framework Voluntary Commitments featuring NRC’s Resilient Local Government Systems Program.
The report cited NRC as a good example for
gathering organizations with varying expertise, resources and capacities—such
as Ateneo de Manila University, Manila Observatory and Zuellig Family
Foundation as implementing partners and Carlos P. Romulo Foundation, San Miguel
Corporation and SM Prime as funding partners—to strengthen and implement its
programs and initiatives.
The Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) in the Philippines had its Annual General Meeting (AGM) last 29 April 2019 at the Mall of Asia Arena Annex (MAAX) Building in Pasay City.
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Capacity Building and Training Service Director Susana Juangco spoke on behalf of OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad.NRC President Antonia Loyzaga (left) and SM Supermalls Vice President Liza Silerio (right) shared the work and accomplishments of NRC and SM, respectively.
ARISE Philippines’ Secretariat, SM Prime, and its Lead Implementing Partner, the National Resilience Council (NRC), co-organized the meeting to foster an understanding of the nature of the following ARISE work themes: Disaster & Risk Management Strategies; Education & Training; and Urban Risk Reduction & Resilience.
NRC Executive Director Malu Erni moderated the discussions on the three ARISE work themes.
In an NRC-facilitated session, members discussed
their accomplishments according to the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) under
each work theme. Among the outputs shared were NRC’s localized resilience
scorecard for Disaster & Risk
Management Strategies, Ateneo de Manila University’s Master of Disaster
Risk and Resilience degree program for Education
& Training and SM’s Resilience Center for Urban Risk Reduction & Resilience.
ARISE Philippines included the highlights from the meeting in a report for the 2019 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019), as well as used them as inputs for the 2019-2020 ARISE Philippines Roadmap.
Participants discussed outputs and accomplishments for the ARISE roadmap
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation President, Butch Meily, presented for Work Theme 1: Disaster Risk Management Strategies
Coastal Cities at Risk in the Philippines (CCARPH) Project Leader, Dr. Emma Porio, reported the outputs for Work Theme 4: Education and Training
Build Change Country Director for the Philippines, Kate Landry, for Work Theme 6: Urban Risk Reduction and Resilience
As a side event, Ms. Rosemarie Rafael of Airspeed—a logistics and end-to-end solutions provider offering expertise in customs brokerage, cargo handling, local distribution, e-commerce deliveries, and warehousing—also signed the Pledge of Partnership for Resilience to formalize its commitment to working with NRC.
NRC Co-Chair Hans T. Sy (left) and NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga (right) join Airspeed President Rosemarie Rafael as the organization officially partners with NRC.
ARISE, an initiative under the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), is a network of private sector organizations and entities that aim to align with the goals of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which are also consistent with that of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan and the NRC resilience platform. ARISE also takes on facilitation of sharing of knowledge and experience in tangible DRR project implementation.
Mr. Hans T. Sy (seated at the center) with speakers and special guests at the ARISE AGM.
Ambassador Roberto Romulo, Carlos P Romulo Foundation (CPRF) Chair and National Resilience Council (NRC) Convenor, delivered the welcoming remarks at the Megacities at Risk Conference. He stressed that the occurrence of a 6.1 earthquake which rocked Metro Manila and Pampanga provided the urgent food for thought on how the Filipinos should plan and prepare for the Big One.
CPRF Chair and NRC Convenor Amb. Roberto Romulo at the Megacities at Risk Conference.
NRC Co-Chair and SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman, Mr. Hans Sy, also saw the importance of the conference in starting a critical conversation among decision makers and stakeholders involved in disaster risk reduction (DRR) and resilience building. “It was driven by the main concern for the survival of the estimated 25 million people in the socio-economic and political centers in Greater or Mega Manila, and the importance of sharing knowledge and learning from the expertise and experience of our neighbors.”
NRC Co-Chair Hans Sy addressed the audience via video message.
CPRF, in cooperation with NRC, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience of Japan, the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR) and the APEC Emergency Preparedness Capacity Building Center (APEC-EPCC) of Chinese Taipei organized Megacities at Risk last 25 April 2019 at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City.
CPRF Chairman Amb. Roberto Romulo and NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga with Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda (leftmost) and American Ambassador Sung Y. Kim (third from left) at the Megacities at Risk conference.
With the theme “Engineering Resilience to Seismic Hazards”, the conference focused on the seismic risk in megacities and how resilience is a goal that needs a whole-of-society effort. It highlighted the private sector’s role in achieving resilience through risk-sensitive investments and allowed participants to assess the country’s progress in addressing the priorities of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as other agreements to coincide with Philippines’ commitments for the Sustainable Development Goals. It aimed to contribute to the work done by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) through the Global Science and Technology Advisory Group, the Private Sector Alliance for Resilient Societies (ARISE) and other multilateral and bilateral partnerships.
NRC Vice Chair for Private Sector Edgar Chua at the Opening Session of the Conference
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman BGen Danilo Lim (Ret) at the Opening Session of the Conference
Office of Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad at the Opening Session of the Conference
NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga presented the conference overview
The conference featured three plenary sessions—Identifying, Understanding and Reducing Risk—with corresponding workshops. Each plenary session consisted of leading local and international disaster experts and policy makers—specifically hailing from the Philippines, Japan, United States, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Singapore—who shared their experiences and DRR technologies. These sessions explored the context, complexity and dynamics of hazards and risk while also tackling the capacities needed to identify exposure and vulnerability. The sessions also provided an avenue to consider organizational behaviors, cultures and local knowledge and attitudes of stakeholders and leaders towards risk. After every session, the participants were welcome to ask experts for further insights during the question and answer (Q&A) portion.
Plenary Session 1: Identifying Risk
Session Speakers—Prof. Naoshi Hirata, Mr. Yih-Min Wu, Dr. Nicolas Luco and DOST Usec. Renato Solidum—and Session Moderator, DPWH Usec. Maria Catalina Cabral, engaged in a discussion for Identifying Risk.
For Identifying Risk, experts explained how to
create seismic risk profiles at city level and introduced Early Warning Systems
(EWS) as effective and efficient measures to communicate risk through various
channels, as applied in countries like Japan, Chinese Taipei and select areas
in the United States. Speakers for this session tackled the following topics:
Tokyo University Earthquake Research Institute
Professor Naoshi Hirata on Japanese hazard seismic and risk;
National Taiwan University Department of
Geosciences Chairman Yih-Min Wu on the development of the earthquake early
warning and real-time shake map systems using low-cost sensors;
US Geological Survey Research Structural
Engineer Dr. Nicolas Luco on seismic hazard identification and risk reduction
in the United States; and
Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Undersecretary for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change and Philippine
Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Officer-in-Charge Dr. Renato
Solidum on earthquake scenarios for the Greater Metro Manila Area
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral moderated the discussion for Session 1.
Plenary Session 2: Understanding Risk
NCDR Director Dr. Hongey Chen, DILG Usec. Bernardo Florece, Jr. and NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga during the Q&A session on Understanding Risk.
Session 2 emphasized the importance of
conducting earthquake scenario analysis to understand risk levels of lifeline
systems (such as communications, water, power), therefore helping in the
detection of highly vulnerable infrastructure and communities and determining
coping capacities in the event of aftermaths. Speakers for Understanding Risk
tackled the following topics:
Chiba University School of Engineering
Professor Fumio Yamazaki on the Building Damage Analysis of the 2016 Kumamoto
Earthquake and its implication to seismic vulnerability of Tokyo Metropolis;
NCDR Director Dr. Hongey Chen on the
intelligence-based information system used for building the common operational
picture for emergency preparedness;
Urban/Regional Planner Dr. Arturo Corpuz on
location and density trends as inputs to understanding seismic risk Metro
Manila;
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI)
International Center for Interdisciplinary and Advanced Research (ICIAR)
Executive Secretary Irina Rafliana on real event lessons from the downstream of
the Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning Systems;
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Principal Disaster
Risk Management Specialist Dr. Charlotte Benson on lessons in enhanced
understanding of disaster risk; and
Department of Interior and Local Government
(DILG) Undersecretary for Peace and Order Mr. Bernardo Florece, Jr. on
understanding risk in the context of the Greater Metro Manila Area
NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga moderated the discussion between speakers and participants for Understanding Risk.
Plenary Session 3: Reducing Risk
NTU-ICRM Executive Director Pan Tso-Chien, NEDA Usec. Adoracion Navarro and Maynilad President and CEO Mr. Ramoncito Fernandez during the Q&A session for Reducing Risk.
Experts in the third session explored the
different policies and practices on national drills, insurance, pre-disaster
recovery planning and business continuity planning that would guide future multi-sectoral
collaborations. Speakers addressed risk reduction by presenting the following:
National Research Institute for Earth Science
and Disaster Resilience President Dr. Haruo Hayashi on the geographic approach
to promoting science and technology for an integrated earthquake disaster risk
reduction;
NCDR Secretary General Dr. Wei-Sen Li on performance-based
continuity plans used for leading strategic measures on developing disaster
risk management;
Nanyang Technological University Institute of
Catastrophe Risk Management Executive Director Professor Pan Tso-Chien on natural
catastrophe risk of Asia;
Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA)
Chief-of-Staff Mr. Michael Salalima (who spoke in behalf of MMDA Chairman BGen
Danilo Lim AFP (Ret)) on the Metro Manila Earthquake Contingency Plan;
Maynilad Water Services, Inc. President and CEO
Mr. Ramoncito Fernandez on seismic hazard management in the water sector; and
US Agency for International Development/Office
of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) Regional Adviser Mr. Joe Curry
on harnessing the power of the youth in disaster risk mapping in Metro Manila.
National Economic & Development Authority Undersecretary and Session 3 Moderator, Ms. Adoracion Navarro, summarized the speakers’ presentations during the Q&A for Reducing Risk.
Putting It All Together
Workshop on Identifying Risk with facilitators
Usec. Renato Solidum and Dr. Naoshi Hirata.
Workshop on Understanding Risk with facilitators Dr. Wei-Sen Li, Dr. Charlotte Benson and Mr. Ramon Santiago.
Workshop on Reducing Risk with facilitators Mr. Michael Salalima, VAdm Alexander Pama and Dr. Haruo Hayashi.
Workshop on Multi-Stakeholder Framework on Joint Collaboration with facilitators Ms. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, MGen Restituto Padilla AFP (Ret) and Mr. Joe Curry.
In the last session, participants broke out into four different workshops: Identifying Risk, Understanding Risk, Reducing Risk and Multi-Stakeholder Framework on Joint Collaboration. They reflected on the respective results of the plenary discussions and worked together to identify gaps, priorities for action, desired outcomes, possible partnerships and timeline. The simultaneous workshops also allowed participants to explore mutual assistance mechanisms for joint collaboration on research and public-private partnerships. Each workshop had experts who served as facilitators, a resource person from Phivolcs and documenters from NRC and the Ateneo de Manila University Master in Disaster Risk and Resilience (ADMU-MDRR) program.
Speakers and special guests gathered for a photo opportunity at the start of the Conference.
Facilitators presented their respective outputs
which were later synthesized by Zuellig Family Foundation Executive Vice
President Austere Panadero. NRC President Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, meanwhile, summarized
the sessions and discussed ways of moving forward.
In his closing remarks, Amb. Roberto Romulo reminded the participants that addressing DRR and resilience is not a one-off affair. He said that the true challenge lies in developing an understanding that everyone must work together to make a change.
Photos courtesy of the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation.
