emi

Name of Funding Organization/Sponsor: UN World Food Programme - Philippines

Country and Location: 12 selected LGUs in the provinces of Benguet, Cagayan, Laguna, and Sorsogon in the Philippines

Start Date: February 2011

Completion Date: May 2011

Related Reports and Documents:

• Capacity Needs Assessment Final Report

Project Summary 

The project focused on the conduct of a comprehensive Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) to: (1) systematically map out relevant existing capacity development activities on disaster
risk reduction (DRR); (2) identify key gaps; and (3) recommend concrete areas of intervention within national-level organizations such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, its partner institutions and the following Philippine provinces:

1. Benguet
2. Cagayan
3. Laguna
4. Sorsogon

Project Components

• Development of the assessment methodology and framework;
• Review of the current policy and institutional environment, particularly the structures and mechanisms of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and its partner institutions for DRR at the national level and within the selected Local Government Units (LGUs) at the local level;
• Inventory and review of existing capacity development initiatives and practices in DRRM at the national level and selected LGUs; and
• Development of a report on current DRR-related capacity building efforts and gaps, and the formulation of recommendations for potential areas of intervention compatible with the UNWFP core mandate and DRR policy.

Methodology

• There were two levels of assessment conducted: national and local. At the national level, the assessment was focused on UNWFP’s main partners in the Philippine government, namely the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). At the local level, the DRR capacity of four provinces, namely Benguet, Cagayan, Laguna and Sorsogon, were assessed. These areas were pre-selected by UNWFP. Within each province, two municipalities were chosen to serve as sample sites, based on income classification and exposure to multi-hazards. Eight towns were chosen through discussions between UNWFP, EMI and provincial officials, as well as consultations with members of the respective Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (PDRRMC);
• The assessment methodology, developed by EMI, is based on the Disaster Risk Resiliency Indicators (DRRI);
• Review of relevant documents and focus group discussions were conducted with key personnel of the DSWD, OCD, DILG, Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, and League of Cities of the Philippines, who are involved in disaster risk management to characterize the policy and institutional environment at the national level, as well as identify past and existing capacity development programs for DRR; and
• The data collected from the review of legal and institutional arrangements and inventory of DRR capacity development initiatives and practices were used to characterize the current state of DRR knowledge, capacity and practice at the national, provincial and local levels. Needed improvements to build the capabilities of institutions at these levels were determined by comparing existing conditions with corresponding descriptors and performance target levels in the DRRI. Appropriate capacity development recommendations were formulated to address the identified gaps. These recommendations were aligned with the objectives of WFP-DILG-DSWD-OCD Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure that they will effectively support the execution of the MoU. The resulting output constitutes a proposed strategic plan that provides the road map for future implementation of the program. An implementation process is also proposed for moving the overall UNWFP DRR capacity building program forward.

Activities

• Local Field Investigations (FIs) were conducted in each of the four provinces included in the assessment, where LGU participants from the provincial governments and two sample municipal governments were introduced to the indicators concept and guided through a ranking process. This evaluated the performance of each LGU and provinces in terms of the DRRI;
• The DRRI is a set of 10 indicators aimed at establishing a stakeholders’ initial benchmark of DRR mainstreaming in a local government’s functional, operational and development systems and processes. The indicators also capture the potential for achieving disaster resilience in particular sectors, based on pre-defined benchmarks and performance targets. The DRRI is divided among 5 key areas: (1) Legal and Institutional Processes and Policies; (2) Public Awareness and Capacity Building; (3) Critical Services and Infrastructure Resiliency; (4) Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Planning; and (5) Development Planning, Regulation, and Risk Mitigation. Assessment of existing legal and institutional arrangements for DRR at the LGU level were conducted through Key Informant Interviews (KIIs).

Project Key Accomplishments

• Using the Disaster Risk Reduction Index (DRRI) scale, it was found out that the pilot LGUs scored mostly low to moderate levels of DRRM, while at the provincial level, the provinces scored at or nearly the moderate level at the DRRI scale;
• 19 key capacity issues were identified, classified according to four (4) functional areas, namely: Policies and Institutional Arrangement; Awareness and Capacity Building; Critical Services and Infrastructure Resiliency; Emergency Management and Response Planning; and Development Planning, Regulation and Mitigation;
• Provided 20 recommendations at the National and Local Level based on the identified capacity issues;
• Developed a strategic plan for implementation of recommendations.  The strategic plan can be used as a road map for the implementation of the next phase of the project.

Contribution to DRR

Development of a methodology for identifying existing capacity development needs, pinpointing key gaps, determining and prioritizing specific  capacity building interventions that will build the capabilities of target Philippine national government agencies and local government units at the provincial and municipal levels

EMI Personnel Involved

• Dr. Fouad Bendimerad, Chairman and Executive Director
• Jerome Zayas, Technical Manager
• Jose Mari Daclan, Project Manager
• Atty. Violeta Seva, Legal and Institutional Expert (Local)
• Dr. Asteya Santiago, Legal and Institutional Expert (National)
• Dr. Antonio Fernandez, Capacity Needs Assessment Expert (National)
• Marino Deocariza, Capacity Needs Assessment Expert (Local)
• James Buika, Disaster Preparedness and Response Trainer
• Leigh Lingad, Provincial Coordinator, Laguna
• Moses Kent Borinaga, Provincial Coordinator, Cagayan
• Jerome Cruz, Provincial Coordinator, Benguet
• Joyce Lyn Salunat, Provincial Coordinator, Sorsogon
• Jesus Dominic Dizon, Support Staff, Sorsogon

Contact Person: Mr. Jose Mari Daclan, Project Manager, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it