Legarda Cites Makati City as Inspiration for Disaster Risk Reduction among LGUs

SENATOR LOREN LEGARDA TODAY CITED MAKATI CITY AS AN INSPIRATION FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, NOT JUST ALL OVER THE COUNTRY BUT ALSO AROUND THE WORLD, FOLLOWING ITS VICTORY AT THE CITY-TO-CITY COOPERATION AWARD PRESENTED BY CITYNET IN SURABAYA, INDONESIA.
Makati City, along with Quito, Ecuador and Kathmandu, Nepal, was awarded the City-to-City Cooperation Award during the 25th anniversary meeting of CITYNET, a regional network that helps local authorities improve lives of citizens and create urban sustainability across and beyond Asia-Pacific.
“Makati City was given the award after sharing best practices and experiences in managing and reducing urban risk through improved land use planning, emergency management, and increased public awareness through a series of exchanges in 2011,” Legarda said.
Funded by the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction City-to-City Sharing Initiative, each of the three cities was benchmarked by the others for a best practice. Makati City was benchmarked for its emergency management systems and community-based disaster management.
Legarda, the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation for Asia-Pacific, added that “this is the kind of initiative that should inspire all our local government officials and compel all of us to invest in sustainable development.”
“The landscape of responsible leadership is changing to fit the challenges of a threatened environment and the need to balance economic progress with sustainability. Let us be inspired by the award given to Makati City, and keep in mind that disaster resilience should be our goal when we deliberate, create, and implement policies,” Legarda concluded.