Batangas

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, through a Contingency Planning
Formulation Workshop on Earthquake, has crafted a contingency plan on disaster preparedness, risk
reduction and response in the event of a major earthquake and disasters.Batangas public information
office chief Jenelyn A. Aguilera told Philippine News Agency on Saturday that the conference gathered
various town and city Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO) representatives,
national line agencies, Office of Civil Defence (OCD) and the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Office (RDRRMO) from Sept. 17 to 19 at the Ponte Fino Hotel here.

“Ang tatlong araw na pagpupulong ay naglalayong bumalangkas ng komprehensibong plano, matukoy

ang mga kagamitan na mayroon ang bawat lokalidad na kakailanganin at maging ang papel na
gagampanan ng lahat sa pagtugon sa pinsalang maaaring maging epekto ng isang 7.2 magnitude na
lindol (The three-day conference aims to craft a comprehensive plan to identify necessary equipment
and resources in every locality in the province and the role they have to play to respond to damages
brought by the impact of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake),” Aguilera said.

PDRRMO Chief Joselito Castro said the Contingency Plan covers not only disaster preparedness but also
risk reduction and response pursuant to Republic Act 10121 or the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010”, the law that transformed the country’s disaster management
system from disaster relief and response towards disaster risk reduction (DRR).Castro said the
contingency plan also covers the provision of emergency services and public assistance during or
immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet
the basic subsistence needs of the people affected, not only during an earthquake, but also on other
disasters and hazards.He said the conference output, which calls for disaster response, is predominantly
focused on immediate and short-term needs in any eventuality or a disaster, through concerted efforts
and actions to disaster risk reduction (DRR) upon directives of Governor Hermilando Mandanas.

Local government units (LGUs) and civil society organizations as key partners are empowered by their
respective DRRs to analyze and manage causes of disasters by reducing vulnerabilities, and enhancing
local communities’ capacities to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and probability of disaster.

During the conference, local DRRMCs were briefed on priorities of actions pertaining to DRR, which
covers local governance, knowledge management, risk assessment, disaster preparedness and
vulnerability reduction.