BATANGAS CITY – The Batangas State University (BSU)-Pablo Borbon Main Campus now opened its twin Adaptive Capacity-Building and Technology Innovation for Occupational Hazards and National Disaster (ACTION) Center and Disaster Resiliency Education for Adaptation and Mitigation (DREAM) Academy.
Batangas provincial public information office chief Jenelyn A. Aguilera told Philippine News Agency over the weekend that the formal opening rites coincided with BSU’s hosting of the three-day Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Conference and Exposition on Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation (ACEDRMCCA) from July 25 to 27 at the main university campus.
Aguilera said that Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Ricardo B. Jalad; Batangas Governor Hermilando I. Mandanas; Batangas State University President Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo; Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Joselito M. Castro; and Office of Civil Defence (OCD) – Rehabilitation and Recovery Management Service Director Edgar Posadas, led the formal unveiling and inaugural rites.
She said that the inaugural rites and conference were held in time for the observance of the “National Disaster Resiliency Month” this July.
The ASEAN conference, themed “Converging with the ASEAN Community in Managing Disaster Risk and Climate Change for a Resilient Community”, gathered disaster managers from the ASEAN and East Asian Regions and Batangas province, where the delegates also witnessed the inaugural ceremonies.
Foreign delegates included Associate Prof. Min-Hao Wu, Director of Science and Technology Center for Disaster Prevention – National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Dr. Nor Eliza Alias, Member of the Climate Change Research Group of the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM); Prof. Chien-Yuan Chen of the National Chiayi University-Taiwan; and Japan International Cooperation Agency representative Takanori Zemmoto.
According to Aguilera, the ACEDRMCCA 2018 event has provided an international forum, where disaster risk managers, personnel, researchers and academicians tackled various issues and concerns on climate change, international and local policies that focus on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
Conference delegates also crafted effective measures and application of science and technology-based solutions addressing climate change, and establish local and international partnerships and linkages among disaster managers, professionals and practitioners from the government, private sector and the academe in the ASEAN.
Mandanas and Ronquillo expressed optimism that the now open ACTION Center and DREAM Academy would serve as partners in providing the venue for producing the corps of young generation of Professional Disaster Managers, who will acquire knowledge, skills and expertise and conduct research and development and training on Innovation in Advance Computing and Technologies for Disaster Risk Reduction.
For his part, Ronquillo said the BSU main campus-based DREAM Academy is set to offer a Master’s Degree In Disaster Risk Management and Diploma in Risk Reduction Management not only for students but also for disaster managers and practitioners.
Aguilera also said that besides the forum and workshops, the Batangas Disaster Response Personnel also showcased their emergency preparedness skills and know-how during the Emergency Response Demonstration witnessed by the local and ASEAN delegates. ( Saul Pa-a/PNA)
