Happy Days

(This column appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

Hi there! It’s another week. And it’s another week of labor at the office for ordinary mortals like me. But hey, this should be one of the most exciting weeks of the year, I mean days before the year-end bonus. Or so I thought. While many of us are looking forward to be “a-year-end-bonus-richer” in the next few days, for many it will just be another ordinary week, what with their bonus already handed-over to some money lenders due to various reasons that bottomline is always the economic crunch, or so they said. Anyway, es la vida. Or is it?

So, is it the excitement and the few moments of happiness and excitement brought by the bonus that led me to today’s title? Nope! It’s about what else but the season that a good number of Filipinos will always be excited about; and it is the season which always brings out the best and the worst among us Filipinos. So is it that Merry Christmas thing? Nope! Not even Happy Easter! It’s the election season, what else!

Ako ang simula, Boto mo I-patrol mo, these are but some of the advocacies one get to see on TV and other media outfit. But hey, the trappings of traditional politics (not necessarily politicians) are all over the place: addition and subtraction (you know the political party-hopping of political butterflies), celebrity endorsements, news / press releases of this and that advocacies, projects or humanitarian projects of this and that politico. And don’t ask me why happy days on election season. You ought to know what makes Filipinos happy every three years; and we are not talking about goodwill from candidates here.

And yes, do you still remember the news reports about how things went during the voters’ registration in a good number of COMELEC offices? No system, not enough forms, and complaints of all shapes and sizes were hurled at the poll body. And yes, I love that lady who aired here complaint over TV and she did it in perfect English. I have no question about how nice her English was. To you and to the rest of your tribe, COMELEC may never have a perfect system, but I understand the voters’ registration started late last year yet. Yun lang!

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The GTZ project for Calbayog. As reported earlier, the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Develompent (BMZ) has recently approved the 3-year Urban Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Project in Calbayog City . Here are a few details of the said project:
In July 2009, GTZ was commissioned by BMZ to review the development-oriented emergency and transitional aid project Disaster Risk Management in cities, Philippines . The appraisers were in the Philippines from 20 June to 31 July 2009 to analyze the situation and to conduct talks with representatives from institutions, organizations and potential target groups at national level and in Region VII ( Eastern Visayas ).

A result of the review was the suggestion to implement a German-Philippine cooperative project in Region VIII. The following three cities were prioritized as pilot locations: Ormoc, Tacloban (both in the province of Leyte ) and Calbayog (in Western Samar ). Given their vulnerable location and large populations, they are at serious risk, but DRM has been initiated. Furthermore, in two of three cities one can fall back on existing GTZ structures or can build on them. The municipalities and the target groups believe that the highest priority should be accorded to activities that strengthen preparedness structures and safeguard livelihoods.

a.) Strengthen preparedness structures by offering basic and further training, also recovery teams; setting up and equipping evacuation centers; setting up early warning systems; and developing disaster protection plans.

b) Safeguard livelihoods by making agriculture less disaster-prone; improving health (hygienic) conditions during disasters, with special reference to drinking water and sanitation; and making houses more disaster-resilient

The target group comprises poor, disadvantaged and disaster-affected population groups in selected cities in Region VIII. The target group in the three prioritized cities covers up to 17,000 households or families (approximately 85,000 persons). Special attention is given to the following groups: women in general and women-headed households; (unemployed) youth; and migrants from marginalized areas.

The overall objective of the project is: Selected municipalities in particularly affected cities are better equipped to handle DRM and can therefore mitigate the damage and losses caused by natural disasters.

The following key indicators have been identified for assessing the achievement of this objective: On the basis of risk analyses, the selected cities have identified appropriate risk-reduction measures that have been operationalized in DRM action plans; In at least two cities, the investments stipulated in the annual investment plan (AIP) for disaster prevention and preparedness measures, distilled from the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP), have doubled; At least X% of the target group in each city uses at least one of the preventive measures promoted by the project (values will be allocated to the indicators in the first project year); More than 60% of the target groups in each city confirm that they feel better prepared for dealing with disasters (opinion survey).

The lead executing agency is the Department for the Interior and Local Government (DILG). It supports the project at national level ( Manila ) in the effort to incorporate project experiences into the design of the national policy process. At regional level, DILG is represented in the Development and Planning Councils; it advises cities on integrating DRM into planning processes and plans and, together with the respective city, partners the project in planning and implementing certain infrastructure measures.

The German contribution involves the assignment of one long-term expert (50%) for three years. Philippine experts and auxiliary staff will also be paid from the project budget. In addition, the following contributions will be made within the framework of the German assistance: advisory services, training measures within the country and abroad, equipment and materials, and local subsidies. The contract value for the three-year project term is EUR 950,000.

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This is it for now. Have a nice week everyone! Ciao!