The province of Albay, headed by Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda, received the Gawad Kalasag Award for Best Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council from the NDCC (National Disaster Coordinating Council) in an awarding ceremony held at the Malacañang Palace last August 12, 2009. Meanwhile, the city of Legazpi also bagged the Gawad Kalasag Award for the Indpendent/Component city category along with the cities of Dagupan, Bayawan and Tagum.

The Gawad Kalasag award is given yearly by the NDCC in recognition of the successful disaster risk management programs of local government units throughout the country. The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils (PDCC) of the provinces of Albay, Antique and Davao del Norte bagged the Best PDCC award.

The province of Albay is considered as a model province in the field of disaster risk management because of its successful programs such as the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO), the first of its kind in the country.

Albay’s geographical location makes it prone to disasters such as typhoons, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, thus the need for an effective and sustainable disaster risk reduction program. The APSEMO initiates a pre-emptive evacuation to ensure zero casualty if and when calamities such as typhoons happen.