City's media practitioners partner with Ormoc government, German international organization

ORMOC CITY, Philippines  - A group of media practitioners has partnered with the city government, through a German international organization in moving closer to a formal agreement in implementing the laws on Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM).

This after the city's media practitioners (Organization of Responsible Media of Ormoc City or ORMOC) recently completed a two-day seminar-workshop, sponsored by the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), or the German Technical Cooperation.

The GIZ is a federally-owned enterprise with objectives in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development, and environmental protection among many other fields.

Allen Molen, GIZ senior adviser, during the conclusion of the activity announced that the organization can now work hand in hand with the city government in reducing the risks of the affected communities.

Molen also expounded on the importance of the media in informing the public of the provisions of DRRM Act of 2010.

"The people should be properly notified on the paradigm shift brought about by this law," said Molen who was instrumental in bringing members of ORMOC together in the seminar about media coverage on disasters, the first kind of activity ever held in the country so far.

Molen also presented Region 8's hazard profile which includes the vulnerability of the city's 22 barangays. Ormoc is a catch basin of flood waters coming from Kananga and Matag-ob towns, he said.

"With media now equipped with knowledge on disaster data, LGU's responses will be more effective as information dissemination is crucial both in normal times and actual occurrence of a crisis," he added.

 Adelina "G" Sevilla Alvarez, president of the Center for Community Journalism Development (CCJD), conducted the lectures and workshop on "media's role in covering disasters" using public journalism (PJ).

Alvarez introduced, with PJ tools, the proper ways of assessing risk of media practitioners when in the field and taught them how to gather the right materials in disaster situation.

Mayor Eric Codilla, who was among the speakers, requested the media to set aside their biases in reporting disaster related articles.

"If there is (bias), please set it aside. Do not put political colors as this will send wrong impression to the constituents who are already dealing with hardship during calamities", he said. --- (Editor's note: Edgar Allan Vilbar is the pioneering president of ORMOC.) (FREEMAN)