OCD 11’s regional dialogue elevates to national level

AN OFFICIAL from the Office of Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao) announced that its regional dialogue has been upgraded to a national dialogue.

Ednar Dayanghirang, the regional director of OCD-Davao, bared this during the Kapehan sa Dabaw held on Monday morning, March 18, 2024, at SM City Davao.

He said that the central office informed him about expanding the dialogue to encompass both local and national levels. The event is planned to span two days, focusing on landslides on day one and flooding on day two.

“Gina-final na tung document and of course the budget sila nga ang central office ang mag support sa regional office sa budgetary requirements (We are finalizing the document and of course the budget that the central office will support the regional office on the budgetary requirements),” he said.

Dayanghirang outlined their goal of engaging 150 participants for the flooding discussion and another 150 for landslides, totaling 300 participants. The dialogue is slated to take place in April 2024.

He underscored that the dialogue would adopt a multisectoral approach, with experts from various fields, representatives from the church, educational institutions, and the private sector coming together to address the floods and landslides in the Davao Region.

He also said that the dialogue would not delve into assessing the damages caused by the disaster, as there is already an agency assigned to handle it—the Rehabilitation, Recovery Strategy under the office of OCD-Davao. Initially, OCD-Davao, in collaboration with the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Offices (MDRRMOs) in the Davao Region, aimed to hold a Regional Flood Dialogue before the end of February to discuss solutions for the recurring flooding incidents, particularly in the low-lying areas.

The Davao Region has faced significant impacts from the shear line, affecting around 600,000 individuals, and the Low-Pressure Area (LPA), which has impacted approximately 72,000 families. /