It is easy to get caught up in the antics of those dominating the headlines of late – misbehaving public officials, self-anointed sons of entities, and mysterious personalities whose words we cannot take seriously – that we often forget the issues that pose grave and existential danger to all of us.
For the third straight year, the Philippines registered the highest World Risk Index (WRI), a quantitative assessment of the risks faced by 193 countries in the face of crises like extreme natural disasters, conflicts, pandemics, and wars.
Being at the top of the list is a distinction we cannot take comfort in or rejoice at.
We scored 46.91 on the index, followed by Indonesia (41.13), India (40.96), Colombia (37.81), Mexico (35.93), Myanmar (35.85), Mozambique (34.44), Russian Federation (28.12), Bangladesh (27.73), and Pakistan (27.02).
The Philippines posted very high risk ratings in exposure (39.99), vulnerability (55.03), susceptibility (51.16), lack of coping capacities (58.07), and lack of adaptive capacities (56.10).
Exposure represents the extent to which populations are exposed to and burdened by the impact of earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal and river flooding, cyclones, droughts, and sea level rise.
Meanwhile, vulnerability maps the societal domain and is composed of susceptibility, coping, and adaptation.
This year’s report pointed to multiple crises, which “jeopardize livelihoods and future opportunities but also have a significant impact on (mental) health.”
The Office of Civil Defense has issued a statement on the 2024 findings. “It is essential to adopt a multisectoral approach in all aspects of disaster risk reduction and management,” it said.
Indeed, disaster risk reduction and management is a responsibility that falls on the shoulders of all stakeholders of society. But the government, both national and local, must take the lead.
National leaders set the overall tone and communicate which issues should take top priority. Local governments, from the provincial down to the barangay levels, serve as the face of leadership.
They should be well-versed with the specific risks faced by their communities, they who should develop plans that consider the uniqueness of their area, implement these plans, and should be visible in the crucial aftermath of disasters and in efforts to rebuild and rehabilitate.
Other sectors, depending on their areas of concern and expertise, must find a way to work with all other stakeholders.
The report is available online.
Our leaders must let themselves be guided, not only by this document but by many others that provide empirical basis for their decisions and actions on the job.
Let us break the habit of thinking about risks and disasters only when a new calamity comes.
We are at risk every day, on many fronts, no matter the state of the political theater playing on any given day.
