Davao City bags seal for disaster standards compliance

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Wednesday, December 14, conferred Davao City with the Gawad Kalasag Seal of Excellence and declared it as fully compliant for garnering a rating of 2.33 in the Gawad KALASAG Seal for Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils and Offices (LDRRMCOs) category for CY 2022.

Davao City is found to be generally adherent to the standards for the establishment and functionality of the LDRRMCOs, as prescribed in the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 or Republic Act No. 10121.

City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Acting Division Chief of Administration and Training, Lyndon Ancajas, in an interview with the City Information Office on Thursday said that the city was rated through disaster risk reduction activities.

“We were rated by the disaster risk reduction nato nga activities then based didto sa four priority areas: prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster recovery and rehabilitation. Every thematic area naa sila’y lahi-lahi nga criteria (We were rated by the disaster risk reduction activities and also to the four priority areas: prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster recovery and rehabilitation. Every thematic area has different criteria),” Ancajas said.

He said that based on the priority areas, their office compiled documents, activities, and reports, and underwent depth assessment and field assessment for the Gawad Kalasag.

Ancajas said that the city used to be declared the overall Gawad Kalasag winner, this way back in 2016 and 2017. However, due to the changes in the last pandemic, the Gawad Kalasag transitioned from a contest to mandatory compliance for all LGUs to participate.

He said that achieving the Gawad Kalasag compliance could be considered a “plus point” for the city in the Seal of Good Local Governance-a progressive assessment system that gives distinction to remarkable local government performance across several areas.

Ancajas said that more than the added advantage for the SGLG, the conferment of the city with the award only goes to show how the city’s level of disaster preparedness and mitigation are.

“It solidifies our effort in making Davao City safe and disaster resilient, although it is not perfect yet. At least with this, we know that we are doing good, what we are doing good at, what we are doing better than others and we are also looking at where we can improve,” he said.

“It just goes to show that Davao City is doing its best with what we have and we can also learn how to be better,” Ancajas said.

He bared that CDRRMO activities for the four thematic or priority areas will continue and among them is the crafting of the contingency plan for all of the hazards. CIO