BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon
This July 16 will mark anniversary of the killer quake that struck
Baguio, Benguet and parts of northern Luzon in 1990 that resulted to the death
of hundreds of constituents.
Over the years, much
had been learned from such calamities and it is a credit to local governments
and locals in the Cordillera that they have innovated and come up with programs
on disaster mitigation.
But much still needs to
be done as natural disasters could strike anytime, anywhere and it is a fitting gesture
of concern that United States Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. came for a visit
in La Trinidad, Benguet.
At the provincial capitol in the capital town, Thomas handed
over Gov. Nestor Fongwan and partners of the provincial government $420,000
equivalent to P17.6 million to fund implementation of practical and high impact
disaster risk reduction projects in the province to save lives and property during
natural calamities.
“We
are pleased to work with various vulnerable communities in Benguet and
throughout the Philippines to improve their capacity to deal with the effects
of natural calamities. Our efforts recognize that disasters would easily wipe
out the assets that our families have worked hard to get,” Thomas told the
crowd at the lobby of the Capitol to witness turnover ceremonies to beneficiary
local governments.
The
disaster risk reduction assistance of the United States government being
handled by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was part
of the $7 million equivalent to P294 million support given to disaster-prone
communities in the country for this year.
The other local governments that stand to benefit from
the said assistance are Cagayan, Laguna, Batangas, Sorsogon, Iloilo province,
Iloilo City, Misamis Oriental, Butuan City, Cagayan de Oro City, Compostela
Valley, Davao Oriental, Maguindanao and Davao City.
Thomas
said the disaster risk reduction assistance being extended by the US government
to disaster-prone local governments is
part of its commitment to enhance capability of vulnerable communities to
prepare and respond to, natural disasters.
The
USAID’s disaster risk reduction program in Benguet, which was implemented in
partnership with the World Food Program (WFP), began in 2011 that initially
covered the municipalities of Tublay, Atok. Kibungan and Kapangan.
Activities included tree planting, development of early warning systems,
and preparation of disaster contingency plans for each of the municipalities.
According to Thomas, the third
phase of the program has expanded to cover six municipalities, including the municipality
of Buguias and the City of Baguio, to help identified vulnerable communities
prepare for disasters.
The
US ambassador said the expanded program now includes creation of a knowledge
and training resource center in partnership of the University of the
Philippines College Baguio.
The
USAID also tapped as one of its partners in the expanded program the Jaime V.
Ongpin Foundation, Inc., which will provide trainings and information and
education campaigns on effective disaster planning and response for local
leaders and community members.
“The
new disaster risk reduction center will help communities gain access to
trainings and valuable information that will help them prevent or minimize the
impact of natural disasters to life and limb,” Ambassador Thomas said.
He
added the US government is putting major emphasis in supporting vulnerable
communities to address current and emerging needs in disaster risk reduction
and he expects to invest more on disaster risk reduction activities within the
year.
For
his part, Fongwan extended the province’s gratitude to Thomas and the US
government for including Benguet one of priority beneficiaries.
“
The
visit of Ambassador Thomas in Benguet only means that the US government means
business in helping vulnerable local governments cope with the serious negative
effects of the occurrence of natural calamities, thus, the people of those in
identified disaster-prone communities must also do their job in ensuring their
safety during the onslaught of natural calamities,” Fongwan said.
He repeatedly extended the province’s gratitude to
support being given by the US government to prevent casualties and damage to
properties during calamities.
Thomas capped his visit
by dancing the tayaw, an indigenous Benguet dance with kids to the delight of
the crowd.
No comments:
Post a Comment