The Philippines has become increasingly capable of responding to major disasters and is now sharing its emergency management practices with other countries, a United States disaster management expert said as the government continues recovery efforts following the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Mindanao.
Speaking during a disaster preparedness workshop in Manila, Steve Castonguay of the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the Philippines has steadily strengthened its disaster response system.
"It's our assessment that, throughout the years, we've seen the Philippines increasingly capable of responding to their own disasters," Castonguay said.
The earthquake, which struck off Sarangani on 8 June, killed at least 45 people, injured hundreds, and displaced thousands of residents. It also damaged homes, schools, roads, and other infrastructure, prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to order a whole-of-government response led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and other national agencies.
Asked whether the Philippines was prepared for a major earthquake in the capital region, Castonguay declined to assess the government's response to the recent Mindanao quake but noted that disaster agencies and the Armed Forces of the Philippines continue to build capabilities for such a scenario.
"What I can tell you is that the OCD, in particular, and the Philippine government, in general, are very, very committed to continuing to build the capabilities to respond to an earthquake," he said.
He added that resource constraints remain a challenge for disaster response agencies, particularly in pre-positioning supplies and equipment.
Meanwhile, participants from the Office of Civil Defense identified misinformation and disinformation as among the most pressing issues confronting disaster communicators.
Carlo Porto, an information officer and training staff member from OCD Region 11, said communicators were trained to counter false information, including fake announcements on class suspensions and emergency advisories.
"One concept that we encountered in this workshop is how to counter misinformation and disinformation," Porto said.
Another participant, Maria Cristina Mayor, who heads the Operations Unit of the OCD, said social media has become the primary battleground for disaster information.
"This is our new battlefield as media practitioners and journalists. This is where we need to fight disinformation and misinformation, especially now that everyone is a content creator and not just a consumer of information," Mayor said.
