Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. stressed the advantage of transforming the Filipino context of resilience in building climate and disaster strategies to address the continuing threats of natural hazards.
Solidum, during the opening ceremony of the of the “2024 Handa Pilipinas: Innovations in Disaster Resilience” Luzon Leg held in the first week of July at the Plaza del Norte Hotel and Convention Center in Laoag City, said “the frequent exposure to hazards in the Philippines suggests that we should transform the Filipino mindset and culture of resilience.”
“Resilience should allow the Filipinos to adopt, resist, transform, and recover from the effects of the hazard in a timely and efficient manner,” he said. “Resilience is moving beyond merely surviving the impacts of disasters. But instead making resilience a way of life, embedded in our households, schools, communities, businesses, economy, and governance.”
He said it is not enough that Filipinos continue to have a pleasant disposition even in the face of destruction or damage.
“In most cases, Filipinos are portrayed smiling after any disaster. …this is associated with accepting the worst conditions. However, these norms are a deterrent to achieving resiliency as this leads to lowering the standards for the quality of life that we are supposed to have,” he said.
Solidum said the Handa Pilipinas campaign seeks to boost the resiliency of local governments through access to the latest technologies developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and its partner organizations and presents various forums on disaster mitigation, and locally developed and market-ready technologies for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
The campaign also aims to elevate the awareness of stakeholders about the technologies that can be utilized to enhance the capabilities of local DRRM, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, offices and equip every corner of the country―from the smallest barangay to the largest city―with the necessary technologies, tools, and knowledge to effectively mitigate, prepare for, and respond to hazards.
“The Philippines is ready for small disasters. But we are not prepared for large-scale events. We are there preparing but we still need to do more, that is why we have the Handa Pilipinas campaign,” Solidum said.
