PASAY CITY, Philippines — The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on October 14 to strengthen the capacity of communities and local government units (LGUs) through community-based disaster risk reduction and management (CBDRRM) training.

PRC Chairman and CEO Richard Gordon, PRC Secretary General Dr. Gwen Pang, OCD Usec. Ariel F. Nepomuceno, and Civil Defense Training Institute (CDTI) Director Eugenio Gepte Jr. signed the MOU during the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The CBDRRM training will use the standard module approved by the OCD, with additional sessions on the Red Cross Movement and RC143 Volunteers Recruitment.

“National disaster risk reduction and management is a vital part of the nomenclature of the law. We must live up to it. With alliances like this, we can strengthen our initiatives to encourage and empower more people to prepare and respond to disasters. If we train and imbue a sense of country in more Filipinos from the national to barangay levels, especially in a time of disaster, we can build cooperation. At the same time, we can nurture preparedness and self-reliance. We’re going to carry our load and help each other,” said Gordon.

He highlighted the PRC’s DRRM programs in disaster preparedness and mitigation, emergency response and operations, blood services and health interventions, as well as shelter and livelihood recovery programs.

“We need partners like the PRC who can do things better than us in community-level assistance. On behalf of the OCD, I would like to thank the Philippine Red Cross for allowing this formal signing of our agreement that will help the OCD in its difficult mission of saving lives,” remarked Nepomuceno.