The City of Makati has received the highest rating in the Gawad Kalasag (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan) for the second consecutive year, marking its commitment to disaster risk reduction and management.
Makati Mayor Abigail Binay said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) recognized the city government’s efforts in building resilience and keeping stakeholders safe.
“We are thankful to the NDRRMC for recognizing the extensive efforts of the city government to build Makati’s resilience and keep all stakeholders safe and secure at all times. This two-peat achievement inspires us to pursue more innovations in DRRM alongside our efforts towards a carbon-neutral future,” she said.
Binay attributed the progress made towards a carbon-neutral future to the strong synergy and collaboration between the city government and key stakeholders.
She also recognized the contributions of the city’s partners in building a resilient and sustainable future.
“We humbly attribute the remarkable progress we have made in our journey towards a resilient and sustainable future to the strong synergy and collaboration between the city government and key stakeholders.”
“Our strategic partnerships with industry leaders, national government agencies, and international organizations have enabled us to undertake high-impact and sustainable initiatives for the past seven years,” the city chief executive said.
According to the Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), a regional validation team from the NDRRMC conducted onsite inspection and validation at the city’s command control and communications (C3) center.
The ICT-driven operations center features data analytics, automated incident report generation, and SOS function linked to the Makatizen App, the country’s first digital citizen app, among others.
Makati also boasts a state-of-the-art early warning system that includes automated weather stations, automatic rain gauges, and earthquake recording instruments.
The system allows for reliable risk detection, analysis, and dissemination, which are essential to providing early warning against hydrometeorological hazards, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Earlier this year, Makati was recognized as a Resilience Hub under the Making Cities Resilient 2030 Initiative by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. The city’s early warning system is featured in the Words into Action Guidebook of the UNDRR.
Makati also received the NCR Resilience Champion Award from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and was also elected as the lead city of the Disaster Cluster of CityNet, the largest association of urban stakeholders who commit to sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region.
The Gawad Kalasag ranks cities and municipalities based on the following criteria: Structure (9 indicators), Competency (12 indicators), Management Systems (3 indicators), Enabling Policies (1 indicator), Knowledge Management and Advocacy (2 indicators), and Partnership and Participation (2 indicators).
Out of 16 cities and one municipality in the National Capital Region (NCR), five were found to be “beyond compliant” – Makati, Malabon City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, and Quezon City. Meanwhile, Caloocan, Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, and Valenzuela City governments were tagged as “fully compliant”.
The Gawad Kalasag is a mandatory assessment for all Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices as they implement the provisions of Republic Act No. 10121 Sections 11 and 12, or the institutionalization of LDRRMOs or LDRRMCs, including the allocation and utilization of the Local DRRM Fund.
The awarding ceremony for 2023 Gawad Kalasag will be held on December 11 at the Manila Hotel.