Sogod disowns risk plan formulated by PDRRMO

CEBU, Philippines — The Municipality of Sogod, Cebu has disowned the five-year Comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Plan formulated by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

Aside from the earlier reported wrong photograph of a town hall printed in the front cover of the hardbound copy of the plan, Sogod Mayor Lissa Marie Durano-Streegan told Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III that the PDRRMO headed by Baltazar Tribunalo has altered the actual content of the plan already approved by the municipal council.

A photo of the façade of the municipal hall of Sogod, Southern Leyte was mistakenly used for the said DRRM Plan for the Municipality of Sogod, Cebu for the year 2018-2022.

Durano-Streegan said the length of years covered by the plan is not 2018-2022 but it is from 2016 up to 2021.

She said the municipality did not also avail of the technical consultancy provided by A2D Project, Berkman International and Certeza Infosys Corporation, as the 5-Year Comprehensive DRRM Plan of Sogod has been formulated and approved months before the commencement of the consultancy provided by the said entities through the PDRRMO.

“As protection of our rights from copyright infringement, we wish for the removal of the claim of the aforementioned entities that they have been technical consultants of such activities as such service has not been rendered,” said Durano-Streegan.

She also asked for the retention of their original programs, projects and activities as these have been altered in the hardbound copy forwarded to the municipality.

“I hope that these constructive comments are to be considered,” she added.

This is allegedly not the first time Tribunalo’s team has committed such mistake.

Tribunalo was the Country Advisor on the Child-Centered Disaster Risk Reduction of Plan International, one of the largest children’s development organizations in the world.

His colleagues in the Plan International were sued by Ocean-action Resource Center (ORC), a small environmental non-profit organization based in Silago, Southern Leyte, also for alleged abuse and intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement of a P37-million project proposal.

Among them was Rodel Bontuyan, the former area manager of Plan International-Philippines, who is now the officer-in-charge of the Cebu Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO).

The ORC alleged that these officials including Bontuyan had undermined their rights and legitimacy as the original project proponent and major contributor to the proposal Adaptation to Climate Change by Strengthening Natural Resilience. (FREEMAN)