Fifteen diplomats and disaster officers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are slated to visit the province of Albay on November 20 to 22, 2009. Albay Governor Joey Salceda said the purpose of their visit is to look into the Albay Provincial Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) and other institutions as well as evacuation centers in the province. “They intend to learn from our experiences and best practices of the province in managing disaster,” Salceda said.

Aside from disaster management, the diplomats intend to learn from Albay’s climate change adaptation program and strategies in emergency health management during disaster. Albay is the first provincial government in the country that has established a separate institution dealing with climate change and disaster safety management.

These two separate institutions have been recognized by the national government as well as international communities for their initiatives to implement climate change adaptation program and combination disaster preparedness program. “Combination in the sense that aside from typhoon, our province is also prepared to respond on the possible eruption of Mayon volcano,” he said.

Salceda said the policy of his administration in terms of disaster preparedness is “Zero Casualty”, which can be achieved through a pre-emptive approach. (PNA) LAP/LQ/MDR/cbd

Source: Diplomats from four ASEAN countries to visit Albay, by Mike dela Rama, Philippine News Agency, Nov. 12, 2009. Accessed on Nov. 19, 2009