The Victorias City government formalized two separate agreements with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE) to reinforce disaster preparedness and resilience at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City on Friday, April 11.
The first Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between Victorias and the OCD, aims to strengthen local disaster risk reduction and management efforts.
This partnership marks a significant step in building a more disaster-resilient Victorias, a press release from the city government said.
The signing ceremony was led by Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez and OCD Administrator and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, with Disaster Preparedness Service Director III Caesar Agnir Jr., and Chief Science Research Specialist of the UP Resilience Institute Jose Abraham Ongkiko.
Vice Mayor Abelardo Bantug III opened the event by welcoming all attendees, highlighting the importance of the partnership, and expressing gratitude to the stakeholders involved.
The agreement sets the foundation for enhanced local capacity in disaster preparedness, emergency response, and technical assistance, the press release said.
It enables Victorias City to access OCD’s expertise, training programs, and data resources, contributing to more effective planning and community-based DRRM systems, it said.
Nepomuceno, in his message, emphasized the importance of empowering local government units (LGUs), especially considering recent volcanic activity at Mt. Kanlaon.
“Our occasion today is another milestone in the mission of the Office of Civil Defense to further strengthen our partnership with the different sectors of our society, especially the LGUs,” he said.
The second MOA was signed between the OCD and the Negros Association of Chief Executives (Negros ACE), also headed by Benitez.
This agreement reinforces a province-wide initiative to elevate DRRM standards across all LGUs in Negros Occidental.
This MOA focuses on promoting collaboration, information sharing, and capacity-building among local leaders, with OCD providing technical and operational support to aid in their disaster preparedness and resilience programs, the press release said.
Benitez, who expressed gratitude for the partnerships, emphasizing the collective responsibility of LGUs in safeguarding communities, said the “Negros ACE leaders will remain united and steadfast in keeping Negrosanons safe.”
“Our vision is that in a few years’ time, Negros will be a model of local resilience,” he added.
Jose Abraham Ongkiko, Chief Science Research Specialist of the UP Resilience Institute, also shared insights during the event, presenting best practices in disaster resilience developed in partnership with OCD.
Also present during the ceremony were Civil Defense Deputy Administrator for International Engagements Carlos Bathan, NIR OCD Regional Director Donato Sermeno III, Councilor Audie Malaga, city department heads, and key personnel involved in disaster risk reduction initiatives. *