UN honors Cebu town's disaster awareness plan

A town in Cebu province was bestowed the prestigious 2011 United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland last weekend. Camotes Island's San Francisco town vice mayor Alfredo Arquillano Jr. received the award, which he said was both an honor and a humbling accolade, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. The DFA said the town's "purok system" has made it resilient, by using indigenous knowledge to disseminate critical information and risk assessment, waste segregation, delivery of health services, and related activities at the household level. "Think big, start small," Arquillano stressed, according to a news release on the DFA website. Arquillano said he will continue to mobilize the people of his town, as well as neighboring communities, to further improve their resiliency against disasters. The UN Sasakawa Award recognizes excellence in reducing disaster risk. Winners are selected among numerous nominees from around the world through an intensive judging process. From the Philippines, other nominees included Makati City, Saint Bernard town in Leyte, and Albay Governor Jose Salceda. "The nominees carried out internationally recognized action that contributes to the goals and priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 - 2015," the DFA said. For 2011, the focus of the award was on local action in line with the UN's "Making Cities Resilient" Campaign. Organizers said the criteria for the award emphasized sustainability of projects despite resource constraints, and putting people first. Other stakeholders which were recognized during the awarding were North Vancouver, Canada; Santa Fe, Argentina; Bhubaneswar, India; the Coordination Center for Natural Disaster Prevention in Central America (CEPREDENAC), and the Pakistani Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 is a global blueprint for disaster risk reduction efforts during the next decade. Its goal is to substantially reduce disaster losses by 2015 - in lives, and in the social, economic, and environmental assets of communities and countries. — LBG, GMA News