ILOILO City – Thirty-seven local government units (LGUs) across Western Visayas were conferred with the Gawad KALASAG Seal and Special Awards for exemplary disaster preparedness, response and management.
LGUs deemed “Fully Compliant” and “Beyond Compliant” received plaques of excellence during the National Awarding Ceremony spearheaded by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6 on Nov. 22, 2022 in this city.
Gawad KALASAG, which stands for “Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing Ang Kaligtasan”, is a National Search for Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and Humanitarian Assistance.
It is the country’s recognition and award scheme for various stakeholders who promote and implement disaster risk reduction and management, climate change adaptation (DRRM-CCA), and humanitarian assistance programs protecting high-risk communities from extreme hazards and rendering them more capable of addressing their vulnerabilities.
“Be relentless in reinventing your strategies to remain responsive to the changing demands of the DRR landscape,” said Harold N. Cabreros, director III of the national OCD’s Rehabilitation and Recovery Management Service and concurrent director of the Capacity Building and Training Service, who was the event’s guest of honor and speaker.
During the awarding ceremony, the provinces of Antique, Capiz and Guimaras were awarded as “Beyond Compliant” in the Local DRRMC and Offices category, while the provinces of Aklan, Iloilo and Negros Occidental were awarded as “Fully Compliant”.
The cities of Iloilo and Bacolod, the towns of Dumalag and Panit-an in Capiz, Malay in Aklan, and Bago City and Sipalay City in Negros Occidental were also recognized as “Beyond Compliant”.
The towns of Barbaza, Culasi, Valderrama, and San Jose de Buenavista in Antique; Altavas, Kalibo, New Washington, and Numancia in Aklan; Pavia, Tubungan, Bingawan, Calinog, Dingle, Lambunao, Leon, Maasin, Mina, and Passi City in Iloilo; Jamindan, Maayon, and Tapaz in Capiz; Sibunag in Guimaras; and component cities of Silay, San Carlos, La Carlota, Talisay, and Himamaylan and municipalities of Isabela and EB Magalona, all in Negros Occidental were all cited as “Fully Compliant”.
Also given during the event were the certificates of commendation to the Gawad Kalasag Special Awards National Finalists – the Federation Iloilo Fire Volunteer Brigade for the Best Volunteer Organization Category and the Capiz Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the Best Government Emergency Management and Response Team Category – and to the Regional LDRRMCO Assessment Validators.
Cabreros commended all awardees from Region 6 for their foresight, commitment, vigor, and exemplary leadership.
“May your efforts not end here, but rather, may they become more effective as they are tested by time. Be relentless in reinventing your strategies so that they will remain always responsive to the changing demands of the DRR landscape. Cultivate the unique ingenuity of the Filipino as you develop more means to respond to the DRRM challenge,” he added.
For his part, OCD-6 director Jose Roberto R. Nuñez said that as the RDRRMC-6 chairperson, it makes him proud to witness the region’s local chief executives and local DRRM officers living up to the goal of excellence in DRRM and humanitarian assistance.
With a much-improved GK Seal and Special Awards, 91 LGUs from Region 6 submitted their entries this year, and 43 of them were rated as “Fully” and “Beyond Compliant”.
Christian L. Nagaynay, chief of the Local Government Capability and Development Division of DILG-6, also addressed the awardees and further encouraged them to do better in disaster risk reduction and management as mandated by the national government./PN
