Teodoro pushes public-private front against disasters

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called for stronger cooperation between the government and private sector as the country shifts its disaster management approach toward anticipation, preparedness and coordinated response.

Speaking at a high-level dialogue on earthquake resilience Monday, Teodoro said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and Office of Civil Defense (OCD) should focus on anticipating disasters, prepositioning supplies and capabilities, establishing strategic inventory areas and protecting critical infrastructure.

“I’ve given a strict directive that they should concentrate on anticipation and response to those disasters that we can anticipate, coordinate government response to areas which are affected or which may be affected,” Teodoro said.

He said coordination with other agencies has already allowed the government to preposition supplies in regions where they can be readily deployed.

Teodoro also said the NDRRMC and OCD should help the private sector maintain vital services after destructive earthquakes and other major disasters.

“How we can help you, how we can have structured engagements and partnerships with you, and that is where we want to structure our engagement to a sustainable one, a purposive one, and one with definitive outcomes,” he said.

Citing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, Teodoro sought private-sector input on maintaining critical services, including round-the-clock banking, information technology and cybersecurity systems.

“So we look to you for leadership in this critical item of risk that we all need to bear with,” he said.

Teodoro, however, cautioned against regulatory overreach, particularly by policymakers with little experience in business operations.

He said government regulations “shouldn’t be a cut-and-paste from any OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) or whatever best practice organization, where funding doesn’t come in anyway, and the private sector is left to bear with the costs of compliance.”

“As we know, the favorite saying is the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Teodoro said.

The dialogue, “Engineering Resilience: Building to Last Towards a National Public-Private Partnership for Earthquake Resilience,” was organized by Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga and the OCD.