PILI, Camarines Sur (PIA) —The provincial government of Camarines Sur, through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), is crafting a 10-year PDRRM plan and DRRM-in-Health plan to ensure a safer, adaptive, and disaster-resilient community.

The Camarines Sur DRRM AND DRRM-H Planning Workshop, held from Oct. 4 to 5, at Villa Del Rey, Capitol Complex, aims to gather input from various member-agencies in developing a framework that will ensure long-term response to all types of disasters experienced by vulnerable and high-risk areas in Camarines Sur.

The formulation of the 10-year DRRM plan also aims "to identify programs addressing the different hazards and health emergencies in the province and define arrangements and responsibilities among agencies, local government units, and DRRM key stakeholders," Camarines Governor Vincenzo Renato Luigi R. Villafuerte stated in his issued memorandum.

Environment, Disaster Management, and Emergency Response Office (EDMERO) Training Officer, retired Captain Edgardo Guevarra, gave an overview of the activity and put emphasis on the importance of stakeholders’ collaboration on disaster response.

“We have to remember that when we talk about disaster response, it always involves the commitment and collaboration of DRRM partners and other stakeholders – especially in sharing skills, knowledge, and resources. We should have a common direction or at least one LGU response concept. This, I think, is possible if all our plans are aligned," Guevarra added.

EDMERO Field Geologist Chris Ian C.Pan also discussed the provincial risk profile, including all the natural hazards that place most of the areas in Camarines Sur at risk.

The province is prone to hazards like flooding, earthquakes, faultlines, tropical cyclones, tsunamis, landslides, liquefaction, and volcanic eruptions.

This risk data and other hazard considerations will be of great use in crafting the 10-year plan using the 4 thematic areas of DRRM, namely: (1) Disaster Prevention and Mitigation; (2) Disaster Preparedness; (3) Disaster Response; and (4) Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery. These are also aligned within the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) structure.

PDRRMC participants were divided into groups. Each group is tasked with identifying the programs and projects per thematic cluster and presenting them to the plenary.

All the presentations will be collated to come up with a 10-year PDRRM and a DRRM-in-Health plan. (PIA5/Camarines Sur)