By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Building upon earlier calls for building disaster resilience and improving responsiveness in the aftermath of natural disasters, the Department of Finance (DOF) championed the creation of the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF) at the 8th Technical Meeting held in Kyoto, Japan last October.
In the conference, DOF Secretary Ralph Recto underscored the importance of this initiative as pivotal in acknowledging the need for an unhampered delivery of essential services to citizens, underscoring President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s agenda of shielding Filipinos from the impact of natural disasters.
Recto said, as member countries agreed to explore the creation of the SEADRIF Sovereign Asset and Fiscal Empowerment (SEADRIF-SAFE) Facility, “Disasters are not just national problems—they are regional challenges that demand global solutions. Through SEADRIF-SAFE, which the Philippines champions, we are taking a proactive and united step to protect what truly matters: our people and the public assets they rely on.”
He expounded, “Hindi lang ito basta-basta paghahanda sa mga kalamidad. Paraan ito para tiyakin na matatag ang ating ekonomiya at kinabukasan, hindi lang para sa Pilipinas, kundi para sa buong Southeast Asia.”
The SEADRIF-SAFE will embed disaster insurance directly into development projects financed by bilateral and multilateral partners. This ensures that critical public assets such as hospitals, schools, roads, and public buildings are financially protected, allowing governments to continue serving citizens even after disasters strike.
This also means that when a disaster strikes, governments can start rebuilding immediately since funds are already available.
The Finance Chief, meanwhile, noted such efforts as complementary to the Philippines’ co-chairship of the upcoming ASEAN+3 Finance Process with Japan in 2026, which would shine a spotlight on regional cooperation vis-à-vis disaster and climate resilience amid the worsening impacts of global warming and climate change.
The creation of this facility provides for accelerated disaster response that would hasten relief and recovery efforts for displaced families and affected communities. (with report from Denisse Osorio | PTV News)
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