Binay poised to transform Makati into pilot resilience hub

MAKATI CITY –Mayor Mar-Len Abigail Binay disclosed that the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has proclaimed Makati as the first-ever Resilience Hub in the Philippines and the Southeast Asian Region.

The UNDRR defines resilience hubs as cities, municipalities or local authorities that have political and technical commitment to take actions to address disaster and climate risks. Since 2010 when the city signed up for the Making Cities Resilient Campaign (MCR), Makati has effectively mainstreamed and institutionalized disaster risk reduction in its policies, plans and programs. Its best practices in DRR have also been shared in a number of international platforms joined by cities all over the region.

The mayor thanked the UNDRR for recognizing the city’s readiness to take on a more prominent role in the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative. MCR2030 aims to contribute directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) and other global frameworks by empowering cities to become inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by 2030.

“We thank the UNDRR for granting us the honor and privilege of serving as a Resilience Hub of MCR2030 for the next three years,” Mayor Abby said.

The mayor said Makati is eager to fulfil its critical role in supporting other MCR2030 cities through enhancing city-to-city collaborations and peer-to-peer support.

“Over the past decade, Makati has made great strides in its journey to resilience largely aided by MCR tools made accessible to us. We are eager to pay it forward by optimizing the opportunity to share our knowledge, best practices and resources with other cities so that together, we can attain the highest level of resilience come 2030,” Mayor Abby said.

The mayor said Makati’s commitments in support of other MCR2030 cities in the next three years include the expansion of city-to-city sharing initiative in international platforms, development of the Makati DRRM Knowledge portal, and the integration of MCR2030 in the Makati DRRM Academy.

To qualify as a resilience hub, a city must have reached a high level of resilience building commitments, showed sustained mechanism for DRR/resilience investments, and with an expertise and interest in disseminating best practices to other cities joining the MCR2030, according to the UNDRR website. The position is renewable every three years.

MCR2030 resilience hubs may also host international events related to the MCR2030; coordinate study tours to showcase practical examples and share experience; twin up with other cities to provide support in the expertise area; provide technical assistance and support training to enhance resilience awareness and in the development and implementation of the DRR/Resilience strategies; publish and disseminate knowledge products, lessons learned and good practices; provide access to partners who can support the journey of twinned cities along the Resilience Roadmap; inject seed financing; and provide assistance with credit ratings and development of municipal bond markets.

In 2017 under the administration of Mayor Abby, the city enhanced its resilience roadmap – the Makati Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan – using the Disaster Resilience Scorecard, an MCR tool. In 2020, the city used the Disaster Resilience Scorecard Public Health Addendum in coming up with its DRRM-Health Plan that integrates public health emergencies to mitigate their impact on all sectors.

Recently, Makati was elected as lead city of the Disaster Cluster of CityNet, the largest association of urban stakeholders committed to sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region.

Mayor Abby also currently serves as Vice President of CityNet; President of CityNet National Cluster – Philippines, UCLG ASPAC Council Member; Executive Committee Member and former Vice President of WeGO; Global Executive Committee Member – Lead Innovative Financing Portfolio of ICLEI World; Regional Executive Committee member as Lead of ICLEI Southeast Asia; City Ambassador for Asia of the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (CCFLA), and Board Member of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM).

Mayor  Binay said she is determined to make Makati City a model for other local governments in formulating disaster risk reduction and climate action plans.

Binay said Makati can become the first resilience hub in the Philippines and Southeast Asia after CityNet, the largest association of urban stakeholders committed to sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region, chose Makati City to lead in the next four years.

Makati was previously First Vice President City since 2018 and Second Vice President since 2010.

“Pinalad ang Makati na muling mahalal bilang (Makati is also lucky to have been elected as the) Vice President ng (of the) CityNet para sa taong (for the years) 2023-2026, kasama ang lungsod ng (with the city of) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” Binay said.

Makati City is likewise the National Cluster President of CityNet in the Philippines.

Binay said Makati City achieved such feats because of its frequent sharing of resilient and sustainable plans in international seminars and fora.

“Tumutulong din tayo sa ibang mga lungsod para makapagsimula rin silang gumawa ng sarili nilang mga programa at plano para maging handa sa mga (We are also helping other cities to start creating their own programs and plans to be prepared in) disasters and emergencies,” Binay added.

She thanked CityNet for its trust in Makati to lead and serve the organization and vowed to continue helping other local government units to be disaster-ready, sustainable, and resilient.

CityNet was established in 1987 with the support of the United Nations and gathered a network of 110 cities, 173 municipalities, non-governmental organizations, private companies, and research centers.

Under the Valley Fault System, a potential generator of a large magnitude of earthquake in the National Capital Region is located on the eastern part of Makati.

Six villages are identified as high-risk areas while in the western portion, there are seven flood-prone villages

The Makati City Disaster Coordinating Council is the lead agency in disaster response, a specialized task group for the coordination of disaster-reduction policies and strategies among the national, regional, and city levels. (Jeanne Michael Penaranda)