Mayor Beng Climaco shared the resiliency journey of Zamboanga City in an international conference on disaster risk reduction and science and technology.

Mayor Climaco was selected as panelist for a technical panel on Cascading, Compound, and Systemic Risks during the 2022 Asia Pacific Science and Technology Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction held April 7 and 8.

“I learned we need to prepare for systemic risk by projecting the hazards in 50 years and provide mitigating solutions in a five-year plan onward to 50,” noted Mayor Climaco as she provided key perspectives on systemic risks from a local government perspective.

The local chief executive also shared insights on inclusion and resiliency, drawing from her experiences as local chief executive during the Zamboanga Siege and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For us in local government, resiliency begins with having a shared and common vision, propelled forward by a whole-of-city approach and sustained by strong political will to enact the systems for change,” said Mayor Climaco.

Taking-off from the Sendai Framework, the Conference was co-organized by the National Resilience Council (NRC), together with the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Council (NDRRMC), Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UNDRR Asia Pacific Science and Technology Advisory Group (AP-STAG), and ARISE Philippines to further upscale science-based risk governance both at the national and local levels. (Jasmine Mohammadsali)