LOCAL government executives, disaster managers and other stakeholders in the Eastern Visayas region are expected to meet in Tacloban City Friday to discuss lessons to promote resilience two years after Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda,’’ according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
DILG Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. said that the Disasrer Risk Reduction and Management Summit will formally introduce the “Build Back Better Operations Manual” produced by the department with the help of the Australian government.
Noval said the manual was completed by a team of engineers, building managers and local planners from the Australian Volunteers for International Development based mainly at the DILG Regional Office in Tacloban City and at the DILG Central Office.
The Australian volunteers worked with DILG for 10 months on the BBB Operations Manual and they studied Philippine building laws and international standards to help in the ongoing rebuilding program while conducting consultations, training of trainers and inspecting Recovery Assistance on Yolanda 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,” Noval said.
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.
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 Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, 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.
DILG will also present a video on Operation Listo that shows a checklist of institutional preparations and actions to be followed by LGUs before, during and after a typhoon. Since DILG’s Operation Listo was first adopted in December 2014, there have been fewer deaths in the region due to typhoons.