LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – For its innovative and effectively responsive initiatives and impressive performance in disaster risk reduction management concerns, Albay and its resident institutions have harvested five major titles in the recent 2013 Gawad Kalasag Awards of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Albay was 2012 Gawad Kalasag (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan ng Sariling Galing para sa Kaligtasan) Hall of Famer, for its consistent exceptional performance in disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) for three consecutive years. It is first province to do so since the award was established in 1998.
The five Albay awardees are Legazpi City for Best Component City category; Santo Domingo town, for Best Municipal DRRMC (4th to 6th Class Category); Oro Site in Legazpi City, for Best Urban Barangay; the Nazarene Children’s Rehabilitation and Development Foundation, for Best Civil Society Organization; and the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital, 3rd place for Best Hospital.
Last year, Albay was elevated to the Gawad KALASAG Hall of Fame for having had the Best Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the country consistently for 2009, 2010, and 2011.
The Gawad Kalasag award, established by NDRRMC’s forerunner the National Disaster Coordinating Council in 1998, aims to recognize, in partnjership with the Department of Interior and Local Governments, exceptional contributions of the various DRRM practitioners in rebuilding and strengthening the resilience of communities to disasters based on established â€standards of excellence in DRRM and humanitarian assistance.â€
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said Albay’s five major awards show the province’s consistency and excellence in the field of DRRM, for which the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction has declared Albay as its Global Model and Salceda himself as Senior Global Champion and spokesman for DRRM and climate change adaptation (CCA).
Salceda, who represents Asia and the developing countries in the $100-billion Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board of Directors, was recently elected co-chairman of the Fund together with his German counterpart, representing the developed countries group.
Albay’s excellent performance in DRRM and CCA was a product of Salceda’s innovative ideas in these fields, particularly the ‘Zero casualty goal,’ which the national government and many local government units have adopted.