Protect 2010 conference to include business resiliency vs natural disasters

MANILA, Philippines - The fifth in a series of conferences designed by the Anti-Terrorism Council and Leverage International (Consultants) Inc. to assist the private sector in preventing, responding, rescuing and recovering from man-made attacks has been expanded to include business resiliency against natural disasters.

Interested parties may contact the conference co-organizer Leverage International (Consultants) at 810-1389; 818-6828 or fax no. 810-1594 or e-mail: leverage@ leverage international.com.

Assistant Foreign Affairs Secretary Victoria S. Bataclan, in-charge of the Office for Asean Affairs, will discuss the recently concluded Asean Disaster Response Agreement at the beginning of the conference.

For Session 1, key topics and experts include The Most Recent Issues on Terrorism by Dr. Rohan Gunaratna of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research of Singapore; Climate Change: Business Implications and Impacts by Joseph C. F. Lufkin of INEX: Infrastructure Exchange and Asian Development Bank (consultant); The READY Project: Hazards Mapping and Assessment for Effective Community-Based Disaster Risk Management by Dr. Ma. Leonila Bautista of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

The MMEIRS Project: The Earthquake Impact Reduction Study of Metro Manila by Lynn Melosantos of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; and Sharing of Experiences: Lessons Learned by a UN expert.

For Session 2, key topics include Disaster Management - Software and Hardware Integration by Michael Ross Conroy of Condoza Software Solutions; Securing Critical and Sensitive Physical Premises by Raymond Koh of Axis Communications; Building Organizational Resiliency and Supporting Vulnerable Population within the Premises by Pete Troilo of Pacific Strategies Assessments and the American Chamber of Commerce; Securing Information Files by Drexx Laggui of Laggui and Associates.

Dynamic Protection of Critical Infrastructures by Steve Cutler of INEX; Biological Events by former Health Undersecretary Dr. Juan Pablo Nanagas; Unified Data Protection and Management by Vasu Nair of Hitachi Data Systems Pte. Ltd. of Singapore; Document Fraud, Protection and Detection by Enrico E. Rampinelli of ZETOS Swiss Forensic Supply.

Managing Outsourcing Risks by Luichi Robles of Symantec Philippines; and The Incident Command System by Alex Pastrana of Jorge, Pastrana & Associates.

For Session 3, key topics include A Presentation of the Philippine Disaster Management System by IPO Director General Ricardo R. Blancaflor, and spokespersonof the Anti-Terrorism Council.

DSWD Programs and Services: Safety Nets for Disaster Risk Reduction by Director Restituto B. Macuto of the Department of Social Welfare and Development; The Emerging Role of An Emergency Manager by Arnel Capili of the International Association of Emergency Managers and the Asian Development Bank; Pandemic Interventions: Protecting the Workforce and Reducing Transmission Around the Premises by Dr. Derrick K. Sim of GSK Philippines.

For Session 4, key topics include Impact of Natural Disasters on Insurance by German Plan of Marsh Philippines; Tax Implications of Natural Disasters by Commissioner Joel L. Tan-Torres of the Bureau of Internal Revenue; Investment Incentives for Projects in Disaster Risk Management by Executive Director Efren V. Leano of the Board of Investments.

The session ends with the launching in the Philippines of the latest security systems by Sony of Japan, AXIS of Singapore and I-Secure of Singapore.

A specialized exhibit will present the new security and surveillance systems to be introduced by Axis, I-Secure and Sony.