Manila, Philippines- During the Post State Of the Nation’s Address (SONA) discussions held on Wednesday, 26 July 2023, Secretary of National Defense (SND) Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr., emphasized the importance of enhancing the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)’s coordinative functions in order to get reliable and timely information to the people in times of disasters and calamities.

Secretary Teodoro emphasized that, “Great strides have been made by our partner agencies with the primary responsibility for preparedness and resiliency, namely the DILG (Department of the Interior Local Government) because the first responders are local government units (LGUs); in case of predictive capabilities for natural calamities, a lot has been done by the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) through PHILVOCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) and PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), and the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways), in terms of mitigation, and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources).”

Attending the discussions remotely due to an emergency council coordination meeting of the Disaster Response and Crisis Management Task Force, which was convened in light of typhoon Egay, Secretary Teodoro said that the Department of National Defense (DND), through the OCD, deals with the marshalling and coordinating of all the efforts by the different national agencies to address the needs of those affected.

“On our part, what we want to be is the bridge between concerted national government assistance and efforts in all these aspects and the local government units,” SND Teodoro said.

The Defense Chief, who is also the chairperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), noted that the OCD, along with the rest of the national government, continues to partner with national and international humanitarian agencies to advocate for the best practices in disaster risk reduction.

Secretary Teodoro also mentioned that, “The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is helping our people in times of crises in terms of delivering basic goods and services when the communities are isolated.”