ILOILO CITY, April 23 – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will hold a regional summit dubbed “Tapatan on Disaster Preparedness” in Iloilo City on April 26 to advocate and institutionalize the concept of disaster preparedness among local government units.

It will be the first in a series of regional summits that will be conducted by DILG nationwide whose primary objective is to instill in the minds of the public, the local and national government officials and other stakeholders concerned their respective tasks before, during and after a disaster.

DILG regional director Evelyn Trompeta said target participants included the local chief executives of the 139 provinces, cities and municipalities in Region 6 to be joined by their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers as well as representatives from Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Change Adaptation ( DRR-CCA) partner Regional Line Agencies, civil society organizations and academic institutions.

The activity is in line with Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10121).

Among the resource persons during the activity include Albay Governor Joey Salceda and Mary Ann Lucille Sering of the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

At the end of the activity, summit participants are expected to sign a pledge of commitment for management plans.

The Tapatan on Disaster Preparedness is an offshoot of the success of the series of Tapatan activities last year, which focused on the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP). As a result of last year’s activity, the compliance among LGUs to the FDP, which requires making public pertinent financial information, rose from 20 to 90 percent. (PNA) RMA/AJP/vlo

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Balita.org(balita.ph)
April 23, 2012