Philippines, UNISDR Vow to Continue to Strengthen DRR Collaboration

Assistant Secretary Kristoffer James Purisima (right), Deputy Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, with Director Kirsi Mardi (left), of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, at the UNISDR Headquarters in Geneva on 08 February 2018.

12 February 2018, Geneva, Switzerland – Committed to the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Philippines and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) vowed to maintain their vibrant relationship by strengthening DRR collaboration this year and in the coming years.

This was what Assistant Secretary Kristoffer James Purisima, Deputy Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, and UNISDR Director Kirsi Mardi discussed on 08 February 2017 at the UNISDR Headquarters in Geneva during their meeting. Both officials expressed renewed commitment to strengthening this collaboration.

As a DRR country champion, Assistant Secretary Purisima highlighted the Philippines’ DRR efforts and initiatives at the national and local levels, through building community resilience and strengthening local government capacities for recovery and disaster risk management.

He mentioned that the Philippines is updating the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction Management Law (PDRRM Law), citing that the Philippine Government wanted a focused, dedicated agency for disaster resilience. The Philippine Government is finalizing the draft of the amendatory bill to the PDRRM Law this quarter.

“This act of updating the country’s legislative framework for DRR demonstrates that the Philippines is dedicated and determined in improving its DRRM efforts,” stressed Assistant Secretary Purisima.

He emphasized that the Philippines is committed to share its best practices and lessons learned to the global community. He also mentioned the readiness of the Philippines to monitor the progress on the Sendai Framework.

“The Philippines will continue to do its part in speaking the language of resilience, and support the UNISDR in keeping the momentum in the implementation of the Sendai Framework,” he added.

Director Mardi expressed UNISDR’s appreciation to the Philippines for its continuing leadership in DRR. She reiterated that UNISDR remains supportive of the Philippines’ engagements in mainstreaming DRR in its policies, programs and projects both at the national and local level.

The Philippines and the UNISDR have a long-standing partnership in collaborating on DRR both in the Philippines and in the multilateral field. Both sides work together in the areas of capacity-building and joint programs or projects on DRR. The Philippines continue to welcome high-level visits by UNISDR officials for the past years. END

For more information, visit www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/genevapcg.

PH-UNISDR meeting, officials from left: Mr. Ricardo Mena, UNISDR Chief for the Sendai Monitoring Process, Ms. Christel Rose from the UNISDR Director’s Office, Ambassador Evan P. Garcia, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ms. Kirsi Madi, UNISDR Director, Assistant Secretary Kristoffer James Purisima of the Office of Civil Defense, Colonel Frederick Cutler of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), 505th Search and |Rescue Group, and Mr. Sonny Patron of OCD’s Logistics Interoperability and Force Management Division.