Phl firms launch disaster operations center in Sendai

SENDAI – At a session hosted by Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) last Tuesday, Rene Meily, president of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF), announced that the group will build a disaster operations center to coordinate private sector efforts for relief and recovery during major disasters.

“We’ll be closely working with Usec. Alex Pama and the NDRMMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council),” said Meily. PDRF is co-chaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, CEO of Ayala Corp. and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle.

Meily said in disaster preparedness, the private sector must be engaged as full participants, and not just seen as donors. He called for a global private sector disaster response network, pre-agreement among all actors – government, NGOs, civil society, private sector, international agencies and military to work together during crisis, like Japanese concept of kyoutei.

He also emphasized the real power of private sector by providing incentives to invest in disaster areas through economic free trade zone.

“We had a fantastic side event on private sector engagement with a lineup of speakers from government and civil society,” said IRW Global Resilience lead Syed Shahnawaz Ali. “Their presentations provided numerous examples of positive private sector engagement, especially in the Philippines where there seems to be fertile ground for collaboration. Well done, the Philippines, for showing us the way ahead.”

Also presenting were Usec. Lesley Cordero of Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (OPARR), Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Leah Bugatay of IRW Philippines. Representatives from the US, Bangladesh and Liberia were also present.

Others present were Miatta Zanabu Gbanya, deputy incident manager of Ebola response for the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Munitions Islam of IRW Bangladesh, Kate Landry of Build Change and Manu Gupta, chair of Asian Disaster and Reduction Network.

The center is expected to be located in either Clark or Subic with a second center in Cebu. The particular focus of the operations center will be to prepare for the possibility of a major earthquake damaging Metro Manila, aside from other potential disasters such as a super typhoon, major volcanic eruption or a pandemic in any part of the country.

A task force chaired by Zobel, Pangilinan and Tagle with Ramon del Rosario, CEO of Phinma, and headed by Guillermo Luz, is leading the effort to construct a stand-alone, 24/7, year-round center with easy access to roads, airport and seaport. It will serve as a focal point for private companies to collaborate with both the government and international agencies.

“The private sector can play a significant role in safeguarding people and this new operations center will help more smoothly coordinate with government and international humanitarian organizations in future disasters,” said Zobel.

“We feel that investments in disaster mitigation and preparedness will both save lives and result in significant economic savings,” Luz added.

According to the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) stated in a press release that climate-related disasters now dominate disaster risk management (DRM), with UNISDR head Margareta Wahlström explaining that while 70 percent of deaths are caused by earthquakes, climate-related disasters now result in over 80 percent of all disaster events and contribute to economic losses and population displacement triggered by such events.

The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) has been ongoing since March 14 to discuss international cooperation on disaster risk reduction and adopt a political declaration and post-2015 DRR framework to guide DRM efforts for the next 10 to 15 years.

Around 20 heads of state and 8,000 participants are attending the conference, including government representatives, civil society organizations, international organizations and business executives, including representatives from the Philippines.

Among the other members of the task force are Meily; Ed Chua, CEO of Shell; Doris Magsaysay Ho, CEO of Magsaysay Shipping; Erramon Aboitiz, CEO of Aboitiz; Ding Carpio, Manila Water’s group director for operations; and Peter Perfecto, executive director of Makati Business Club.

PDRF is one of the world’s few permanent private sector organizations focused solely on disaster management.

Islamic Relief Worldwide is an international humanitarian and development organization which has been assisting around 60,000 persons in communities devastated by Typhoon Yolanda in Northern Cebu and Leyte province. 

The WCDRR meets every 10 years, with previous conferences also taking place in Japan in Yokohama in 1994 and Kobe in 2005.