The Archdiocese of Palo’s Relief and Rehabilitation Unit (Caritas Palo) and at least 200 Yolanda survivors have signed a declaration supporting community-managed disaster risk reduction in Palo, Leyte Tuesday.
Caritas-Palo director, Rev. Al Cris Badana, said it was important for members of the communities to be part of all processes addressing climate and disaster risk, especially after the province experienced the wrath of Typhoon “Yolanda” last Nov. 8, 2013.
He added that the impact of climate change cuts across all sectors regardless of gender, culture economic or political status, with the poor suffering the greatest impact.
In Paris, France, world leaders, negotiators and activists are attending a climate conference.
“Therefore, a plan of action to address climate and disaster risk must be undertaken using community-managed disaster risk reduction as the strategy,” Badana added.
Also present during the commitment signing are representative from various church groups and government agencies such as the Provincial Government of Leyte, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government, Media, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Office of Civil Defense.
Aside from the declaration signing, the Yolanda survivors from 15 communities in the town of Palo, Santa Fe, Alangalang, Mayorga, Dulag, and Macarthur each gave a presentation of how their communities are presently engaged in community-managed disaster risk reduction measures and system.
There was also a mini-exhibit of the organic products produced by Yolanda survivors to show its support for sustainable agriculture which is part of the climate change action.
After the devastation of said typhoon, Caritas Palo and NASSA/ Caritas Philippines helped Yolanda-affected communities craft their own resiliency and contingency plans, which were already adopted by their barangays.
As of Dec. 1, Caritas Palo has invested P150 million to build resilient communities.
The said communities also installed early warning systems and evacuation plans, which resulted in zero casualties and minimal damages during the onslaught of Typhoon Ruby, the strongest typhoon in 2014.