14 February 2017 GENEVA – The Philippine Government engaged fellow governments, UN humanitarian agencies, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and stakeholders in an annual dialogue called the Humanitarian Networks and Partnership Week (HNPW) in Geneva from February 06 to 10.
The discussions focused on the common challenges and most pressing issues facing humanitarian responders today and explore possible innovative solutions.
Undersecretary Ricardo B. Jalad, new Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), led the Philippine Delegation to the HNPW.
Together with other members of the Philippine Delegation, Undersecretary Jalad attended various sessions and contributed insights and inputs into the various humanitarian action and response issues, including coordination, information management, importing priority humanitarian goods, getting airports up and running quickly, environmental risks, training and simulation exercises, humanitarian civil-military coordination, and disability inclusion, among others.
Other members of the Philippine Delegation include Assistant Secretary Hope Hervilla, head of Operations and Programs Group – Protective Programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); Brigadier General Restituto Padilla, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, J7, and Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP); Ms. Susan Quiambao, Officer-in-Charge of the OCD’s Logistics, Interoperability and Force Management Division; and, Mr. John Jeffrey Ramirez, Planning Officer III of the International Finance Group of the Department of Finance (DOF).
Ms. Maria Teresa T. Almojuela, Chargé d'affaires, a.i. and Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippine Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations, also attended the HNPW with Third Secretary Sharon Johnnette M. Agduma and Attaché Marean Abarra.
Hosted by the Swiss Government and co-chaired by the United Kingdom’s Department of International Development (DFID) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the HNPW provides a unique opportunity for crisis preparedness and response experts to network and develop new partnerships, to actively participate in a collaborative approach to resolving common challenges that hinder work in the field, and to actively contribute to the Leading Edge Programme, a year-round collaboration platform that enables change in crisis preparedness and response. END
