QUEZON CITY -- To support the rehabilitation and recovery of communities affected by disasters, especially those devastated by Typhoon Odette, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the World Bank have expanded the Ready to Rebuild Program to add four training runs scheduled between January and June 2022. This is in addition to the first four training batches that were already completed in 2021.
“Rehabilitation and recovery do not begin only after calamities strike. We must start this process even before disasters hit,” said Undersecretary Ricardo B. Jalad, NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator. “That’s the only way we can hasten our rebuilding after devastation, especially now that Typhoon Odette has reminded us once more how disasters ravage our communities and set back our development.”
The 5th batch of the capacity building program has prioritized the participation of 35 local government units (LGUs) from 5 Typhoon Odette-affected regions to empower them in building back better, faster, and greener. They are joined by 16 non-Odette-affected LGUs to round up the 51 participating local governments from 12 regions across the country. To date, a total of 197 provinces, cities, and municipalities from all 17 regions are benefitting from the Program.
A total of 287 trainees are currently learning from disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) experts as well as technical experts to build their capacity to deal with aftermaths of disasters. Local chief executives and technical staff—DRRM officers, planners, engineers, budget officers, and social workers—apply their learnings to complete and formulate their communities’ science-based pre-disaster baseline data, local disaster risk financing strategies, and local rehabilitation and recovery programs.
“Through the Ready to Rebuild Program, we are changing mindsets for pre-disaster rehabilitation and recovery. We are enabling local governments to put this at the forefront of DRRM planning and activities instead of as an afterthought,” said Atty. Lesley Jeanne Y. Cordero, World Bank Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist. “At the same time, we are ensuring that while they make the shift from reactive to proactive policies, we are equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary. This way, communities can have a head start for an inclusive and resilient recovery when disasters come their way.”
National government agencies—such as Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development and regional offices of the National Economic and Development Authority, and Department of Tourism—are also participating in the 5th training run to focus on the recovery of key sectors such as tourism and shelter, among others.
The Ready to Rebuild Program would complement the $200 million dollars (P10 billion pesos) withdrawn from the World Bank standby loan facility after the declaration of a State of Calamity by the President for Typhoon Odette response and recovery efforts, according to Cordero. The local recovery plans and outputs from the R2R Program could speed up access to the National DRRM Funds and other resources, according to Jalad.
The 6th batch of the training program, scheduled from February 21 to March 11, 2022, is now open for registration with limited slots available. LGUs who have not yet undergone the training are highly encouraged to contact the Ready to Rebuild Program Secretariat via ready2rebuild@gmail.com to secure their slots. (NDRRMC)
