Following the format of the Flood Summit organized in 2010, the local government of Cainta launched a multi-sectoral campaign for disaster resiliency through the Cainta DRR CCA Summit by inviting the officers and members of the seven barangays, the homeowners associations, the business sector, the youth, the academic community and people’s organizations including the non-government organizations, civil society
organizations and the religious sector. The Summit laid the groundwork for the participatory process in the LAP-DRR-CCA. With the leadership of the local chief executive, one of the proponents of this study, the DRR-CCA Summit became a venue for effective communication and constituency building by involving local stakeholders as early as possible to ensure their support and commitment in the succeeding phases of the study.
Using the research undertaken by the proponents in rethsponse to the first objective of this study, a presentation of the institutional and legal framework of DRR and CCA was presented in the summit to help explain the rationale and the significance of the creation of the LAP-DRR-CCA.
Other objectives of the summit included the establishment of baseline data and the identification of the communities and areas, which have the need for a Disaster Risk Assessment in Phase 2.
The Summit was held on June 24, 2012 at the Entertainment Center Phase II of Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall in Cainta. More than 300 participants attended the event, broken down into the following sectors:
Table 3 Sectoral Representation of DRR CCA Summit
SECTOR NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
Academe 42 Private 26 Informal Settler 22 Homeowners’ Association 51 LGU, Barangay 45 NGO 34 CSO 28
Persons with Disabilities 6
Youth 31
Religious 22
Media 5
TOTAL: 312
In the Summit Overview provided by Ms. Cecil Benavidez from the Asian Research Center for Climate Change, it was mentioned that the summit intended to increase the level of preparedness of the people when typhoon strikes and to lower its impact. The summit urged the participants to do their share and not just rely on the local government to deal with the hazards and disasters brought about by the change in climate. The speaker called on the participants to join in the preparation to respond better to climate change. (See Appendix 1 for PowerPoint presentation)
Mr. Rizalino Timbol, OIC-Municipal Administrator, delivered the welcome address and his key message was to together toward making Cainta a disaster resilient community.
The next part of the summit set the perspective of the summit through technical presentations by experts from the government. It started by localizing DRRM, presented by Director Vicente Tomazar, Regional Director - Office of Civil Defense Region IV-A. His presentation differentiated hazards from disasters and enumerated their respective effect on people's lives. He said that in terms of safety, everyone was responsible for their
own safety and in order to minimize the effect and damage of disasters, preparedness plans must be in place at the soonest possible time. The plans, he said, must be community-driven and centered on hazards. Since problems were identified per community, solutions must also be unique to the communities. It is vital to know the available resources before planning.
After presenting the technical definitions and descriptions of disasters, hazards and climate change effects, they were brought down to the local setting of natural and human- induced disasters focusing only on three: typhoons, floods and earthquakes. Director Renato Solidum of Phivolcs emphasized the risk reduction measures that need to be followed:
Surveillance Safe location Safe construction Safe workplace, school Safe individual, family Simulate possible responses Save the environment
The summit also laid the ground for the urgency of establishing DRRM and CCA plans for Cainta. Director Josefina Castilla-Go, Regional Director - DILG IV-A, gave the facts and figures of the damages caused by disasters in Cainta, which she said were compelling reasons for the creation of the plans and programs for action. There is enough mandate or advisory that serve as basis for the creation and integration of a local action
plan in DRR and CCA. Mainstreaming DRRM and CCA in the local development process would allow Cainta to be proactive and not only act when there is calamity. For this to happen, the local development plan of Cainta must be updated to incorporate the respective DRRM plans and CCA measures. In line with this is the strengthening of the capacity of the LDRRM office and personnel to be equipped in disaster management and for the communities in Cainta to be ready at all times. The speaker urged all sectors to do more than belong and participate and always work under the spirit of solidarity and teamwork.
Mayor Ramon Ilagan, one of the proponents of this study, ended the summit by emphasizing that everyone should face the threats of disasters and the impacts of climate change by being prepared and ready. He said that everyone is part of the solution and that the solution should start from each one of us.
In summary, the summit was able to achieve the following results:
1) enhanced the culture of gender-sensitivity and disaster preparedness among all sector participants as basis for adopting measures and establishing strong mechanisms required for effective response and early recovery.
2) promoted understanding on various aspects of DRR and CCA from prevention/ mitigation, preparedness, response to recovery and rehabilitation. 3) determined and defined sectors' respective tasks and their contributions to
disaster preparedness efforts of the LGU.