Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian joins other member-agencies of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) at the ceremonial launching of the National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) 2024 on Wednesday (April 2) at the Office of the Civil Defense in Quezon City.
The NDRP 2024 marks the third version of the Philippines’ multi-hazard response and early recovery framework, focused on the long-term vision of the country to build safer, adaptive, and disaster-resilient Filipino communities toward sustainable development.
The 2024 plan was prepared by the NDRRMC, particularly the members of the Response and Early Recovery Pillar led by the DSWD and the OCD, in collaboration with the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR).
Secretary Gatchalian was accompanied by Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG).
Also present at the launching were Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Teodoro Gatchalian; Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Marlo Iringan; Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Gloria Balboa; Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Jesus Domingo; Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Benjo Benavidez; Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Felix Fuentebella; Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Augusto Dela Peña; Social Security System (SSS) President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert de Claro; Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) Asst. Secretary Ehren Azarraga; and World Bank Philippines Country Director Zafer Mustafaoglu.
Other attendees include Department of Agriculture (DA) Asst. Secretary U-Nichols Manalo; Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Asst. Secretary Mary Anne Dela Vega; Department of Transportation (DOTr) Asst. Secretary Ricardo Alfonso Jr.; Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Asst. Secretary Philip Varilla; Lt. Gen. Jimmy Larida of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Police Col. Esmeraldo Osia Jr. of the Philippine National Police(PNP). (LSJ)