Sustainable Initiatives Led by Local Experts

      Leaders  of  DLSU-COSCA’s partner communities,  Barangays 718, 719 and 720, 704, 707, 714 Zone 78, Manila  reviewed  responsiveness  of  their Disaster Risk Reduction  and  Management (DRRM) Plans to the  needs of  their  respective communities during  the March 22-23, 2017 seminar-workshop in De La Salle University – Manila.   The  seminar  workshop  facilitated  by the  Department  of Interior  and Local Government (DILG) - National Capital Region  utilized the  BDRRM Quality Assessment (QA) Tool for  Local DRRM Plan  in the Philippines developed  by the Save the Children, DILG and the  Humanitarian Leadership Academy Philippines  was utilized for the evaluation.

      Local leaders familiarized themselves with the principles, objectives  and administration of the BDRRM QA Tool, identifying  twelve (12)  benchmarks to measure the quality  of  their  Local DRRM Plan  in  the  context of  the  Community-based DRRM framework.  The instrument  subjects their BDRRM Plan to a review  and  the process facilitated the identification  by the barangay of the gaps and needs  that  should be addressed  to ensure that  the BDRRM plan that they will draft and  adopt  is appropriate  to  the  risks present in their  communities, especially during calamities. 

    The  session’s resource  person  emphasized that the  QA instrument was made user friendly  to  help ensure that  responsive and  inclusive BDRRM Plans  are implemented at the  local level.

     Also, in the  effort  to  help build  disaster resilient communities, DLSU-COSCA  continues  to  pursue partnership building  and strengthening with institutions  and  organizations  that  share the same  advocacy  on  environmental  protection   and climate change adaptation and  mitigation.   DLSU  formally partnered with the Manila Bay S.U.N.S.E.T Partnership Program, Inc. (MBSPPI), an organization of twenty-one (21) government and  private institutions  formed  to help  strengthen commitment  of  institutions to protect and  clean-up the  coastal  area of Manila Bay, including its  tributaries  including  those situated  in  DLSU’s partner communities. 

     COSCA  representatives  attended the 2017 Manila Bay S.U.N.S.E.T  Partnership Program, Inc. Strategic Planning Conference  held  on  March 9, 2017  highlighting  public-private  partnership   in the  effective enforcement of and compliance to Supreme Court Mandamus  (e.g.such as in the adoption of the Solid Waste Management Barangay Ordinance, 100% waste segregation at source and segregated collection per waste collection and segregation  provisions, creation of waterways watch or River Warrior and the 24-hr. monitoring of the estero,  survey to determine areas illegally encroached and number of informal settlers along estero, percentage of estimated total area and number of illegal encroachments on water bodies that are permanently cleared) consistent with current laws and relocation provisions.