Local leaders commit to policy infusion for flood resiliency

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

The leaders of the city and province of Iloilo signed a resolution on Thursday with the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), to commit to the recommendations made by academics from within and outside Iloilo on disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA).

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. made the move during UPV’s Flood Resiliency Summit at the UPV Iloilo City’s Little Theater.

The summit is one of the first programs on DRR and CCA undertaken under the administration of UPV Chancellor Clement Camposano.

The UPV also conducted a four-part webinar series from Dec. 8 to 11 on understanding flood risks in the city and the province.

Both the city and the province suffered major losses during Typhoon Frank in June 2008, and two weeks ago, towns in the northern part of the province experienced flash floods from a Low-Pressure Area.

In his opening remarks, Camposano said the summit was only one of the ways to address the “unforeseen” danger of flooding.

“There have been flooding incidents in the past, and our scientists have been warning us that our city and our province have the vulnerabilities, the constant danger of flooding. For many years, many of us seemed to just carry on as if this danger was not real. I think it is about time that we are reminded of the fact that it is no longer a question of whether a flooding like the one in the heels of Typhoon Frank will happen again, it will. It is really a question of when will it happen again, and will we be ready? Will we be capable to handle the risk and danger to lives and property?” Camposano said.

Representative Loren Legarda (Antique-Lone), Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who joined via online platform, highlighted the urgency of the climate crisis in her message.

“We are clearly standing on the crossroads of the climate crisis. The increasing severity of typhoons, and the resulting floods, such as the succession of Typhoons Pepito and Quinta, Super Typhoon Rolly, Tropical Storm Siony and Tonyo, and Typhoon Ulysses, are a stark reminder that extreme weather, high-impact events threaten to affect millions of our people, compounding challenges to health and security, and the economic stability even being worsened by the present COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge therefore, is more urgent, now more than ever,” Legarda said.

The summit’s keynote speaker was Dr. Wei Sen Li, Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Emergency Preparedness Capacity-building Center (APEC-EPCC) and the Secretary-General of the Taiwan National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR).

Li shared the rarity of typhoons in Taiwan for 2020, in contrast to the Philippines, calling it a “first” in his career.

He also highlighted the evolution in emergency management in Taiwan, from first “Experience-based” phase in 2004, to the second “Science-based” phase in 2014, and to the third “Information-Intelligence-based” phase in 2020.

These evolutions include the use of tools, from paper maps to real-time and big data, actions from evacuation to risk communication and impact-based preparedness, info sources from a 911 hotline to social media, and an emerging participation from limited to many stakeholders.

Li believes that the Philippines is still in the second phase of its evolution, and well on its way to the third.

The NCDR will work with UPV to help the city and the province to work on improvements in knowledge, scenario, risk and evaluation which include Scientific Prediction, Real-time Monitoring, and In-time Decision Making.

 

LOCAL POLICIES

The highlight of the summit yesterday was the resolution signed by Treñas, Defensor, and Camposano, based on the studies conducted by UPV scientists.

Under the resolution, the city and the province, along with UPV, will seek to implement the following measures:

-Complete implementation of the Comprehensive Drainage Masterplan for Iloilo City that includes the full implementation of Stages 2 and 3 of the Iloilo River Flood control project;

-Strengthening and sustaining the operation and management of flood mitigation activities, facilities, structures, waterways, and drainage systems;

-Restoration and conservation of watersheds;

-A comprehensive study on the river systems and their effects on flooding, including the mapping of the connectivity between river systems, the floodways, spillways, and drainage system and the integration of local knowledge with science;

-Promotion of collaborative risk governance as a coherent approach to reducing risks of flooding;

-Institutionalization of Standard Operating Procedures in response to flooding occurrences;

-Comprehensive training and capacitation of local personnel to address flooding issues and occurrences;

-Institutionalization and regulation of drainage requirements for land development in LGUs including collection and interception of run-off to discharge the main drain;

-Mainstreaming of DRR and CCA in all development plans to include provisions to incorporate flood resilience in plans, programs, projects, and activities of Iloilo City and Iloilo province to reduce economic, socio-cultural, environmental, physical, detrimental institutional impacts of flooding to the lives and assets of Ilonggos; and

-Implementing proposed decentralized Local DRR Management measures based on Sec. 3 of Rep. Act No. 7160 (Local Government Act of 1991), and the ruling of the Supreme Court in the Mandanas vs. Ochoa case.

In his message, Mayor Treñas touted a “whole-of-society” approach to DRR and CCA, admitting that the local and national governments cannot “carry the burden” of flooding and climate change on their own.

“Local governments and national government agencies cannot do this alone. We need to have a whole-of-society approach, where everyone contributes and do their share regarding the issues. Together, key players, decision-makers, and stakeholders can all make a difference in our quest to make Iloilo a much better place and much-better prepared against flooding,” the mayor said in his message.

Iloilo City Councilor Lady Julie Grace Baronda, who also attended the summit, said that the summit encouraged her to revisit the ordinance which created the city’s Water Efficiency Protection and Conservation Council, as a starting point.

Baronda is a member of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC).

“This would be one way to provide plans for the city as to the integration of different programs in water management. If we need to have a concrete plan on flooding measures and the development of the city, we need to have measures in place,” Baronda told Daily Guardian.

She said she will also file for the adoption of the resolution signed by the mayor in the City Council.

During a press conference at the provincial capitol on Thursday, Governor Defensor said that he may endorse the resolution for adoption by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to formally include it in the province’s policies.

He said that the resolution serves as guidance for the implementation of his plans for the province, such as the review and improvement of the Draft Iloilo Watershed Management Plan, and the creation of the Provincial Civil Defense Office.

“The purpose of the resolution is to be a guidance for everyone—for us in the government, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and myself, and of course, the private sector and all of our stakeholders,” Defensor said.

He also reiterated his message during the summit, calling for the passage of a Sustainable Forest Management Law and a National Water Resources Management Law, to replace the Water and Forestry Codes, both promulgated during the Marcos administration.

The governor also said that the creation of the Civil Defense Office is recognition of a climate emergency in the province, without having to make a formal declaration.

The House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution No. 1377 on Nov. 22, which seeks to declare a national climate emergency.

“Our Civil Defense Office is a recognition of the continuing character of climate change. This is not just an emergency that we need to meet today, but it has been a daily manifestation. That is our own way of declaring a climate emergency without making our own formal declaration. Climate change is a continuing emergency that must be addressed in the daily grind of the provincial capitol,” the governor said.