“Local governments are mandated to ensure the people’s right to a healthy ecology, but we cannot do it alone. As we have experienced in Bataan, it takes a village to build ecological resilience.”

Governor Joet Garcia said this after highlighting the resilience efforts of Bataan built through partnerships during the “Barangayan para sa Kalikasan at Bayang Matatag”, a barangay leaders resilience forum, held last October 12, at SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

Aimed at sharing innovations and creating pathways of transformative resilience actions, said program co-organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), National Resilience Council, in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) gathered over 500 local government unit leaders and partners.

“All disaster risk is local while the impact would cascade globally. Resilience may appear and manifest differently in each and every barangay and community. This forum is a manifestation of our commitment to working inclusively in a multi-stakeholder fashion towards disaster resilience.” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said in her opening speech.

Said event coincided with the 32nd anniversary of the enactment of the Local Government Code of the Philippines and was conducted to promote the vital role of barangays as the first line of defense in risk reduction, risk management, and resilience building, as mandated in Section 12 of Republic Act no. 10121.

Barangay Councils from the Province of Bataan were invited to said event, which provided more insights on ecological resilience from Her Excellency Mami Mizutori of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr., OCD Usec. Ariel Nepomuceno, Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez of Ormoc, National Resilience Council Executive Director Sly Barrameda, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, and speakers from local government units, the private sector, and experts, just in time to celebrate International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.

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