Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez highlighted the disaster preparedness program of his city during its hosting of Negros Island-Siquijor DRRM Summit.
"It is with immense pride and honor that I welcome you all to this groundbreaking event for the entire Negros Island Region. I couldn't be more thankful to Alliance of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers in Negros Island Inc. (ADDRMONI) for choosing Victorias to be the venue of this very significant event for unity, fellowship community resilience," Benitez said.
This summit benchmarks a strong and united NIR in building more disaster-resilient Filipino communities. We are here, empowered by our collective determination to build a more resilient future, a future where our communities can not only weather the storms but emerge stronger, he said.
Here in Victorias City, we commit to implementing measures to proactively mitigate risks and prepare for the inevitable. This is why we invest so much in prevention because preparedness is always PARAMOUNT.
Benitez said that under the city's Disaster Resilient Community Agenda, they inaugurated the Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for efficient monitoring and swift emergency response.
"Indeed, we did not only make it to withstand disaster and serve Victoriahanons but also to host significant events like this," Benitez said.
The city also launched Project Vector or Victorias Emergency Crisis Technical Operation and Response, the umbrella platform that aims to equip communities to be 'crisis and emergency-ready' at all times.
Among our other Major DRRM projects he said are the drainage master plan, installation of warring systems in the strategic location within the city, and turnover of several disaster response management resources such as water tankers, patient transport vehicles, dinghy boats, ambulances, man lifts, tow trucks, and generators.
"We are proud of what we have done so far to fulfill our Disaster Resilient Community Agenda, but we still have so much more equipping and capacity building to do and material assets to have.
I believe with the strong alliance and collaboration in our Region we can all achieve so much more in our respective cities and municipalities," Benitez also emphasized.
The safety and welfare of our people, the security of our economies, and our future depend on our collective action as one region. Let us move forward, united in one purpose, to build a future where disaster risk reduction and management is not just a policy, but a way of life.
Let us transform vulnerability into strength, despair into hope, and build a Negros-Siquijor Island Region that can stand against any calamity, storm, or disaster., Benitez added. (TDE)