The city government of San Pedro, Laguna under Mayor Art Mercado has worked hard to ensure that it will become “Una sa Laguna” in terms of disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
As it turned out, it has set these standards so high that even local government units (LGUs) outside of Laguna province are now looking to incorporate the “best practices” of the San Pedro City LGU in their own DRRM programs.
This was evidenced by the recent visit of a team from Alaminos City, Pangasinan to San Pedro City, Laguna last October 9, as part of its “benchmarking” program.
The Alaminos City team, led by its own Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head Mylene Manalastas, met with Mayor Mercado and San Pedro City DRRMO head Nico Pavino, to share best practices in disaster risk reduction and management.
Aside from a tour of the new San Pedro CDRRMO Command Center in Barangay Poblacion, the Alaminos City team also visited the Rosario Evacuation Center in Barangay Rosario, the City Fire Auxiliary Unit station in Barangay Pacita 1, and the Sampaguita Flower Farm in Barangay Rosario.
"Nagbase po ang Alaminos City LGU ng mga lugar na pupuntahan nila para sa kanilang benchmarking activity sa mga nanalo sa Gawad Kalasag [an award given by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to local government units for their initiatives and programs on disaster risk reduction and management]," Pavino explained to OpinYon Laguna in an interview.
And since San Pedro City ranked fourth in the national rankings for Gawad Kalasag (having received a "Beyond Compliant" rating in the 2023 Gawad Kalasag Awards), the team from Pangasinan decided to learn from the “best practices” of the San Pedro City LGU in terms of disaster mitigation, the CDRRMO head added.
"Ipinakita natin yung mga current risks to calamities ng ating lungsod, gayundin kung paano na-develop ng LGU since 2013 ang ating DRRM sector. So nakita nila ang laki ng improvement ng ating lungsod pagdating sa disaster risk reduction and management, and may mga nakita silang strategies na pwede rin nilang i-implement sa kanilang lungsod," Pavino said.
For a city government that had also conducted benchmarking activities for disaster risk reduction and management in other parts of the country since Mercado took office in 2022, Pavino said it was an honor that other cities are now looking at the San Pedro City LGU as one of the prime examples of how to efficiently respond to calamities.
“Nakaka-proud po itong pagbisita ng Alaminos City LGU, dahil ito po ay isang pruweba na nag-improve na po ang ating lungsod at may nakakakita na rin po from other regions ng naturang mga improvement. Dati, kami po ang dumadayo at nangongopya ng best practices; ngayon kami na ang pinupuntahan para naman gayahin ang ating sariling best practices,” he explained.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #OpinYonNews #SanPedroLGU #AlaminosLGU #DRRM