Naga, hosts ASEAN workshop on disaster risk financing, insurance

NAGA CITY --- Recognizing the need for the reformation and development of sustainable policies to mitigate the potential threats and impacts of natural disasters, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ sub-national workshop on Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (DRFI) for Luzon Cluster was held at the Avenue Plaza Hotel here. In collaboration with the Department of Finance, the forum-like workshop facilitated discussions regarding the country’s current policies and mechanisms on disaster risk financing and insurance, focusing on issues and challenges faced by local governments and communities alike. National Expert for Policy Development Dennis Dela Torre went over the ASEAN DRFI Program, emphasizing its goals, areas of priority, and significance to the development plans for the years 2017-2022 under the administration of President Rodrigo Roa-Duterte. According to Dela Torre, the initiative aims to maintain sound fiscal health at the national government level, develop sustainable financing mechanisms for local government units; and reduce the impact on the poorest and most vulnerable sectors. Through these necessary steps, the national government will be able to support long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction needs, while the local government units can provide immediate liquidity at the onset of a disaster. Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Participatory Governance Edina Almodal highlighted their intention to not only organize the various agencies and governing bodies in the country, but also to encourage cooperation and participation from the common Filipino people. “This is a very positive step towards formulating concrete policies and actions for this matter,” Almodal said during an interview. “We want to involve everybody, because this is our affairs. This is a very important concern to every one of us,” she added. The worshop was the third and last to be conducted in the country as those for the Visayas and Mindanao clusters were already completed. LSM-SDollaga-PIA5/Camarines Sur