27 October 2015 - The Philippine experience in disaster resilience and response was highlighted during a forum organized by the European Institute for Asian Studies, a renowned Brussels-based think-tank, on October 22. 

Chargé d’affaires Robespierre Bolivar of the Philippine Embassy in Brussels discussed the Philippine experience and initiatives related to regional cooperation and integrated response.  His presentation focused primarily on the country’s experience during Typhoons Yolanda/Haiyan and Hagupit. He highlighted the Philippine government’s shift from reactive disaster relief to proactive disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM), the mainstreaming of DRRM in the government’s development plans, and cooperation in ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Other speakers also highlighted the Philippine government best practices in coordinating the entry of foreign relief and recovery assistance during natural disasters.

Entitled “Forum on Natural Disaster Resilience and Response in Asia”, the event brought together experts from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), the World Bank, the Food and Agricultural Organization, the European Commission, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the Korean International Cooperation Agency, international disaster relief agencies and diplomatic missions in Belgium. END