MMDA: Philippines needs to learn disaster recovery

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Wednesday that it is looking at the possibility of having cross-training with other Asian countries on disaster recovery.

Speaking to reporters after opening the two-day conference on disaster risk management in Ortigas, Quezon City, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said although the MMDA is trained and equipped for disaster prevention and rescue, it still has to learn about disaster recovery.

"Gusto nating matuto sa karatig bansa natin sa mga bagong ideas sa disaster recovery," he said. (We need to learn from nearby countries of new ideas on disaster recovery).

"Kasi tayo, prevention and rescue. Pero sa recovery, wala tayo masyado. Ano ang dapat gawin para makabangon agad tayo pag tinamaan ng isang malakas na bagyo o lindol, kagaya ng Japan'" Tolentino added. (We a trained in disaster prevention and rescue but not on disaster recovery. What should we do to recover immediately from a major disaster such as a string typhoon or an earthquake, like what they did in Japan).

Tolentino said that more than rescue equipment, what the MMDA really needs is cross-training with other countries on disaster recovery.

The two-day seminar hosted by the MMDA and the World Bank, was attended by disaster and crisis managers from the Asian Network of Major Cities21 (ANMC21) member cities.

Participating in the event are ANMC21 member-cities Bangkok, Delhi, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Metro Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Tomsk (Russia), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Yangon (Myanmar).

Tolentino said the conference on disaster risk management and preparation coincided with the country’s observance of the National Disaster Consciousness Month this July.

"This will be a very fruitful conference because we have so much to learn from our Asian neighbors in terms of disaster risk reduction programs and crisis management. We all believe that disaster preparedness should be a concerted effort among nations,” he said.

The conference's theme this year is "Recovering from a Devastating Disaster and Moving Forward: A Major Asian City’s Rehabilitation and Recovery Efforts.”

ANMC21, which organizes the annual ACMC, is an organization of Asia’s largest capital cities working together on issues such as urban planning, sustainability, and crisis management. It was advocated by then Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara in August 2000.

The World Bank sent its regional disaster managers to participate. in the summit.

Tolentino said each participating city, including Metro Manila, will have presentations on their current strategic approaches on disaster mitigation, such as flood management and earthquake risks reduction.

Tolentino said the country's hosting of this year's ACMC is timely considering that the Philippines had the second most number of disasters in the first 10 months of 2012, with 16 recorded disasters (next only to China), based on a report by the United Nations Officr for Disaster Reduction.

Tolentino said the UN report did not include typhoon Pablo which hit Mindanao last December 4 and left more than 1,000 dead and 800 more missing in its wake.