As Vice Chair for Disaster Preparedness, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Office 13 enjoins all Local Government Units (LGUs) through their Local Chief Executives (LCEs) to perform preparedness actions for the rainy season this year.

 

The DILG Central Office issued Memorandum Circular No. 2017-75 dated June 9, 2017 Re: 2017 La Niña Advisory and the DILG Regional Office issued a corresponding Memorandum bearing the same subject to remind LGUs to start making preparatory acts and corresponding set of initiatives to mitigate the impacts of flooding, landslides and other resulting hazards.

In view thereto, all LGUs are directed to prepare or update their respective La Niña Action Plan / Oplan Tag-ulan for CY 2017 and submit it to the DILG Regional Office for the La Niña Regional Action Plan. As such, LGUs are directed to convene their respective Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (LDRRMCs) and conduct Pre-Disaster Risk Assessments (PDRA), especially for flood-prone and landslide high-risk areas.

Further, LGUs are advised to closely coordinate with PAG-ASA for timely weather updates and with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) for adequate information on the threat of flooding and rainfall-induced landslides within their respective areas of responsibility.

As always, the DILG takes the lead in ensuring that LGUs are fully equipped with the necessary skills and capability to face and survive hazards, as well as cope with the impact of disasters.With the significance of such undertaking, the matter was discussed during the 2^nd Disaster Preparedness Committee Meeting last June 23, 2017.  (Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa, DILG 13)