MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish a region-wide database on disaster risk management to facilitate information sharing on mitigating measures and ensure timely cooperation in times of calamities.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez issued the call after he and fellow finance ministers and central bank governors in the region underscored the importance of strengthening each country’s resilience against natural disasters during a recent meeting in Singapore.
“We are encouraging our partners in the ASEAN to participate in building a region-wide database for disaster risk management and possibly institutional structures that will enable timely cooperation in the face of calamities,” Dominguez said in a statement.
According to Dominguez, the Philippines has started this type of initiative by sharing information with the private sector to enable better coordination in times of disasters and other emergencies.
“Within the existing capacity constraints, we are building databases and constantly improving on the quality and amount of data available to identify vulnerabilities and manage risks. This is a continuing effort,” Dominguez said.
In a joint statement, ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors said the resilience of the ASEAN member-states against natural disasters “is important for sustaining growth as well as protecting our people’s well-being.”
“We note the ongoing ASEAN Disaster Financing and Insurance (ADRFI) initiatives to enhance the region’s capacity to adopt and implement ex-ante and ex-post disaster risk management measures,” the statement said.
“Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are working together to launch the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF) as a disaster risk management solution for the region,” it added.
Aside from setting up a disaster risk management database, Dominguez said the Philippines is also pushing for legislation that will institutionalize disaster risk financing strategies, such as reinsurance and government-sponsored risk pools.
He said these would enable communities to swiftly get back on their feet in the event of calamities.
Dominguez said the government is also conducting pilot studies for a parametric insurance scheme covering the country’s most vulnerable local government units (LGUs).
On a regional basis, the finance chief said ASEAN has initiated a program to coordinate the sharing of disaster risk financing, and completed the first phase of the project in June last year.
This region-wide disaster risk insurance facility, with funding support from the German development institutions GIZ and KfW, is “a pioneering ASEAN project that could be adopted in other parts of the world,” Dominguez said.