Philippines: Partnership strengthens information on disaster risk reduction
PIA press release by Fayette C. Rinen
Cebu City - In order to strengthen local institutional capacities for effective information management particularly in communicating information aimed at disaster risk reduction, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) inked a partnership geared towards community disaster preparedness and response.
Vince Camba of the PIA bared that the partnership also addresses hoax messages that otherwise prevents false alarm causing undue public panic and distress specifically citing the Tsunami scare in Japan of which the radiation levels might hit the Philippines at a certain hour on that certain day.
“The March 14 text scare that had caused unnecessary public panic is one example where the PIA-NTC partnership is beneficial as communication to the public about the real condition on such an issue can be addressed,” according to Camba during a recent briefing on the PIA-NTC partnership for disaster preparedness and response to over 100 regional directors and infocen managers of the PIA across the country .
With the PIA-NTC partnership, the messages through text can be differentiated either as a hoax or a true text, where government can counteract text messages designed to cause undue public fear, this is said.
In Cebu, the radiation scare witnessed the panic buying of betadine, a topical antiseptic, as based on the text, the betadine must be used to offset the possible development of thyroid cancer due to radiation.
Because of the public alarm caused by a simple hoax text message, the PIA-Cebu coordinated with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) -7 prompting the conduct of an immediate press conference seeking media’s help to allay public fear to counteract the false message.
The use of information to effectively manage and mitigate disaster through appropriate actions and response from the government is essentially needed especially as the Philippines is prone to natural disasters like typhoons, this is stressed.
Camba said the country is number one in the volume of disaster events in the world map of natural disasters in 2009 which that year recorded 13.4M victims and 1,334 deaths placing the country second to China in terms of mortality rate due to disasters.
It was in 2009 that the killer Typhoon ‘Ondoy’ took hundreds of lives and rendered thousands of Filipinos homeless when the tropical storm wrecked Metro Manila and nearby regions taking everyone by surprise. Because of the tremendous devastation, the whole country was placed in a state of calamity.
The country averages 22 typhoons a year, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration and with the forthcoming rainy season, the PIA-NTC partnership comes at a time when strengthening information to build the capacities of the local community for disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction is extremely crucial, Camba ended. (PIA 7-Cebu)