Local governments’ disaster preparedness up for assessment

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will start in September the assessment of Eastern Visayas’ 149 local government units’ (LGUs) disaster preparedness.

DILG Regional Director Pedro Noval Jr. said the evaluation will have two parts – preparedness before a disaster happens and the local government’s response during the disaster.

“We have been calling the attention of LGUs to prepare for any disaster. They have to get a passing mark on the two levels of assessment to be qualified for conferment of seal of disaster of preparedness,” he said.

A regional road show led by Secretary Jesse Robredo was held early June to ensure that local officials are aware of the new seal.

“Many local chief executives signed a pledge of commitment for disaster preparedness to show their firm resolves to carry out their local disaster risk reduction and management plans,” Noval said.

Assessment will focus on leadership structure, guide to action, operational readiness, and innovative practices.

The assessment will be done by DILG officials assigned in the six provinces, seven cities and 136 municipalities of the region. Conferment will be done in October.

The seal aims to establish benchmark information on disaster preparedness of local governments from which will evolve government interventions to influence a progressive capacity build-up among provinces, cities and municipalities

The initiative will also assess post-intervention disaster preparedness to determine performance gaps that need to be aggressively addressed. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)