Disaster Resilience Begins with Me: Cebuana Lhuillier 2018 READY Disaster Resilience Forum
The
Philippines has a long list of disaster, mostly weather related attached to
its name and through the years it seems there is always a pattern that emerged
throughout all this – the people and the government is not fully equipped when
it comes to disaster preparation. It is only after the devastation caused by
Typhoon Yolanda that we realized the need to be disaster-ready. Thankfully it
is not only the government that has step-up in this endeavour to prepare the
Filipinos to be disaster resilient but also the top companies in our country with
the likes of Cebuana Lhuillier.
On the
heels of last year’s successful disaster resilience forum, Cebuana Lhuillier
continues to push for disaster preparedness among Filipinos, gathering the
country’s industry experts in disaster management, risk reduction, and
post-disaster rehabilitation on July 4, 2018 at Shangri-la the Fort Manila for
the ‘2018
READY Disaster Resilience Forum Disaster Resilience Begins with Me.’
This
year’s theme is an iteration of the past two fora, focusing on the need for
everyone including the first responders; communities and families; and
individual Filipinos to be ready and be fully equipped to take on an active
role in disaster resilience.
At the forum, Cebuana Lhuillier President
and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier shared, “When we slated the
Disaster Resilience Forum two years ago, our vision was to build a nation of
resilient Filipinos armed with the information and know-how to protect and help
others during times of disasters and natural calamities. This year, we would
like to encourage each and every Filipino to take on a more proactive role in
building disaster resilient communities by highlighting personal readiness and
security to alleviate massive losses and damages during disasters.”
In
partnership with the Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-poor Insurance
Markets in Asia (RFPI Asia) and the Mutual Exchange Forum on Inclusive
Insurance Network (MEFIN), the event was organized to serve as a platform to
discuss measures on the disaster resilience of first responders such as members
of the army and local policemen against any type of disaster.
The
forum is also a venue for various local government and civil societies to share
learnings and best practices to strengthen and improve other communities’
disaster resilience capabilities. The multi-sector panel discussion seeks
to increase awareness on the role of microinsurance as a disaster-risk finance
tool to make every Filipino resilient against the impacts of disasters and
calamities, as well as, promote conversations about each Filipino’s role in
every phase of disaster risk reduction and management
Broken down in three panel sessions, the forum opened with ‘First Things
First: How Resilient are Our First Responders?’ The panel
featured Restituto F. Padilla, Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, J5 of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines; Rene “Butch“ S. Meily, president of the
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Inc.; and Manuel “Nong” C. Rangasa,
chairman and executive director of Local Climate Change Adaptation for
Development, Inc.
Kicking
off the second discussion, ‘Moving Fomard: How do we Strengthen our
Communities’ Resilience?,’ were Maribeth L. Marasigan first vice president
and chief operating officer of WeatherPhilippines Foundation; Jorge S. Ebay,
associate professor in Community Development at the University of the
Philippines-Visayas; and Dr. June Caridad Pagaduan-Lopez, convenor of Citizen’s
Network for Psychosocial Response.
The third and final panel session, ‘On to the Next
Step? How can Every Filipino be Ready and Help?’ were presented
by Stacy de Jesus, head of Community and Digital Communications of Rappler,
Inc. and Pebbles Badillo Sanchez-Ogang, executive director of YESPinoy
Foundation, Inc.
You
may download the session presentations through this link:
The
forum also featured Commissioner Dennis B. Funa of the Insurance Commission and
Jonathan D. Batangan, first vice president and group head of Cebuana Lhuillier
Insurance Solutions, Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation, Inc., and Cebuana Lhuillier
Business Solutions; and news anchor and program host, Tony Velasquez of the
ABSCBN News Channel (ANC) as forum moderator.
To
further reinforce its disaster resilience advocacy, Cebuana Lhuillier
launched OurHelp,
a donation site where donors can ensure individuals or communities who do not
have access to or means to get insurance coverage for as low as one dollar or 53
pesos. OurHeIp is an offshoot of the company’s National Pilipino Protektado
Day, a month-long campaign that helped insure one million Filipinos in 2016. Donees
of the website get microinsurance that covers accidental death or dismemberment
and disability; unprovoked murder and assault; and other causes of death
(except suicide), as well as, cash assistance in case fire hits their home.
The launch was followed by the signing of a manifesto of this
year’s disaster resilience forum convenor and partners as an official
declaration of their commitment to raise the level of awareness, preparedness,
and sustainability of resources of each and every Filipino against the impacts
of disasters and calamities.
This year’s forum concluded with songs from legendary singer,
songwriter, and environmental conservation advocate Noel Cabangon ,which
included ‘Kanlungan,’ ‘Umuulan sa Tag-Araw, Umaaraw sa Tag-Ulan,’ and ‘Awit ng
Bahaghari.’
Launched
in 2016, this year’s forum sustains Cebuana Lhuillier’s disaster resilience advocacy.
Other initiatives rolled out under this advocacy campaign include the Cebuana
Alerto, an Android app that provides real-time disaster-related information,
the formation of the Microinsurance Agents Association of the Philippines
(MIAAP), an organization founded to promote the interest and welfare of
microinsurance agents nationwide, and the introduction of Claims Rapid Action
in a Disaster-Stricken Area Operation (RAPIDO), an initiative that enables
Cebuana Lhuillier Insurance Solutions (CLlS) to immediately process and settle
claims right at the site where a disaster had just occurred.
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