On her official visit in the Philippines, Margareta Wahlström, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Disaster Reduction, attended a meeting of Mayors from across the disaster-affected Mindanao island that agreed to establish a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
7 May 2012: The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) has reported on an official visit by Margareta Wahlström, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Reduction, to the Philippines. She attended a two-day meeting on “Building a Resilient Mindanao,” in Albay.
Hosted by UNISDR champion Joey Salceda, the meeting brought together mayors from across the disaster-affected Mindanao island. It concluded with agreement to petition the President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino Jr., to allow the use of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund for prevention and mitigation activities at the local level. According to UNISDR, the meeting also agreed to establish a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Management Office, and that all infrastructure projects should be risk-sensitive and climate-smart.
Also in the Philippines, UNISDR has announced it has joined forces with Ateneo De Manila University to urge Manila’s business community to reduce its disaster risk and develop business continuity plans, taking into account the capital city’s extreme exposure to earthquakes and typhoons. Loren Legarda, UNISDR Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Champion, convened a high-level meeting of business leaders, which was attended by Wahlström, to discuss how robust business continuity planning can be part of corporate social responsibility. [UNISDR Press Release on High-level Meeting of Business Leaders] [UNISDR Press Release on the Mayors’ Meeting]