The four-day training course held on April 2 – 5, 2019 at the Madison 101 Hotel, New Manila, Quezon City was organized by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), together with instructors from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Local Government Academy. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) participated in the said activity represented by Messrs. Kevin Bien D. Tee (Geologist II), Jude Karol O. Equila (Geologist), and Kurt Joshua Y. Tizon (Geologist) of the Lands Geological Survey Division (LGSD), and was joined by the representatives from the Regional Offices of OCD and other National Government Agencies.

The enactment of the Republic Act 10121, also known as the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010,” mandates the Local Government Units (LGUs) to create their Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (LDRRMC), establish their own LDRRM Offices, and mainstream the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Planning (LDRRMP) which provides detailed information on their assessment of hazards, exposures, vulnerabilities, and capacities. Serving as the first responders and primary implementers of DRRM, they should be highly capable and effective in conducting DRRM activities to provide a safer environment and the safety of the lives of their people. Thus, the 1:10,000 scale rain-induced landslide and flooding susceptibility maps of MGB should be used by LGUs as base maps in effectively carrying out their DRRM planning process.

This training course aims to develop trainers to be fully equipped with knowledge on the formulation of LDRRMP and its processes, and the proper utilization of the LDRRM Fund. Lastly, a standard template of the LDRRMP was drafted with the essential inputs by the participants from the National Government Agencies and Regional Offices of OCD.

Composition of the LDRRMP-Training of Trainers with the instructors (front) and participants (back) including Director Susana G. Juangco, RN, MPH (center) of the ODC-CBTS.

By: Lands Geological Survey Division