Mayor Herbert Bautista (center) receives the award from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (2nd from left), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director Ricardo Jalad and OCD-NCR Regional Director Romulo Cabantac Jr. during the 20th Gawad KALASAG held at the AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo on December 4, 2018. (PIA-NCR file photo) 

MANILA, (PIA) -- After two years of postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gawad KALASAG Seal and Special Awards for Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Humanitarian Assistance is back this year to call for entries and nominations from both the private and public sectors.

With categories this year that promote disaster risk reduction and resiliency amid the global public health emergency, and with at least 20 years of implementation, the deadline for submission of Gawad KALASAG entries for Civil Society Organizations; People’s Organization; Volunteers’ Organization; Private Organizations; Government Emergency Management and Response Teams; and the Nomination for Special Recognition for Individual and Organization within the National Capital Region will be on April 15, 2022.

"With reference to OCD Memorandum No. 05, s. 2022, the Office of Civil Defense - NCR, as the Regional GK Secretariat, hereby announces the commencement of the Regional Call for Entries for the 22nd Gawad KALASAG (CY 2022) Seal and Special Awards for Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Humanitarian Assistance," MMDRRMC senior vice chair and OCD-NCR regional director Romulo Cabantac Jr. told PIA-NCR.

RD Cabantac said it was unfortunate that last year’s program was suspended, along with the previous year, that "created a gap to the more than two decades of continuous implementation of this program."

"Our transition from the old concept of Gawad KALASAG to the GK Seal and Special Awards may have been delayed by this pandemic but we tried our best to do as much as necessary for the program last year especially in the LDRRMCO category when we asked for the voluntary submission of assessment tools and the succeeding validation of the same by our Regional Validation Committee," he added.

The Gawad KALASAG Search covers major categories and special recognitions for government agencies and institutions, local government units, civil society organizations, private sectors, and individuals who have engaged in the promotion of inclusive DRR-Climate Change Adaptation.

Encouraged to join include Local DRRM Councils, civil society, people's, volunteer, and private organizations (business/corporate), local government emergency management (GEM) and response team, heroic acts and special recognition.

Interested applicants may submit their entries (hard and soft copy) at their respective OCD Regional Offices.

Cash prizes of up to P300,000 and plaque of appreciation depending on the category await winners, and all cash prizes shall be subjected to tax deduction. However, there will be no cash incentives for regional winners.

To recall, the concept of Gawad KALASAG was adopted from the Filipino term for shield, ‘kalasag’, used by early Filipinos as a means of protection from attacks of enemies or harmful animals.

It was established as the country’s premier recognition scheme to various stakeholders that design and implement DRRM programs that protect and shield high risk communities against hazards and render them more capable of addressing their vulnerabilities and coping from disasters. (PIA-NCR)