DILG launches centralized alert system for disasters

MANILA, Philippines - Mayors and their constituents will be guided step by step before, during and after a disaster strikes.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday launched CHARLIE, a centralized alert system that uses local response strategies for better disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).

“Let’s make disaster preparedness more understandable,” said DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II during the CHARLIE soft launch.

Using best practices by the Philippine National Police, Office of Civil Defense and Department of Science and Technology, Roxas introduced a flowchart that will guide town and city mayors in making the “minimum critical preparations” in time of disaster.

“You can treat this as a checklist of what has to be there at the very least. It’s hard to act while confused. The chance of confusion in coordinating disaster response is high,” Roxas explained.

Applying the signaling system of the Bureau of Fire Protection, an area is declared under CHARLIE status if it is exposed to the highest risk due to a typhoon or an earthquake.

Roxas said before the actual implementation of the new system, comprehensive pre-disaster risk assessments would be conducted in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. “That way, response strategies can be based on the actual needs of specific areas,” he said.

“We also want to harmonize the new system with our local DRRM plans,” he said in Filipino.

However, he admitted that sticking to local DRRM plans the way playbooks should be followed could be challenging for local executives.

“The law requires each local chief executive to have DRRM plan for his/her own municipality. But we know that at the height of disasters, we rarely follow our plans,” he said.

Roxas stressed that the DILG aims to provide all local government units (LGUs) with necessary materials such as landslide and flood susceptibility maps and flowchart, which come with a manual of operations. He said these materials would be released in December.

The protocol is part of the DILG’s Oplan Listo to build the capacities of LGUs in preparing for and responding to disaster, anytime and anywhere it may strike.