Bohol First District Rep. Edgar Chatto expressed his appreciation to the Philippine
Red Cross (PRC) for its Greening DRR Program during a stakeholders meeting on
December 7, 2023.
He said the province achieved its current status through partnerships, and the Red
Cross has been a reliable ally in times of crises such as the earthquake and
typhoons.
Chatto, who heads the PRC-Bohol chapter, recognized the program donors Shir
Shah Ayobi and Carlo Simonetti, the country representatives of the American Red
Cross and the Canadian Red Cross respectively, who were present at the event.
He highlighted the project’s significance in uniting the efforts of those who are
working on the ground and conveying the message of what can be done for the
future.
Chatto, who also leads the House Committee on Climate Change, said national and
local levels must collaborate in both adaptation and mitigation measures to address
the climate crisis.
He emphasized that the program’s theme: Saving lives through working with nature,
is fitting as the whole world is discussing climate change and disaster risk reduction
at the ongoing Conference of Parties (COP28) in UAE.
He praised the PRC’s disaster response strategies and its Greening DRR program
that are in line with adaptation and mitigation to reduce Greenhouse Gas that
triggers the changes in weather patterns and leads to floods, storm surges, sea level
rise and other effects.
PRC-Bohol officials such as Emmanuel Pilayre, secretary of the board of directors
and Keith Cantoneros, OIC administrator, as well as national PRC officials Karen
Loreno, DRRM Unit Head; Karen Ann Osiones, monitoring, evaluation and learning
team leader; program coordinators: Charmille Riamae Senica, GDRR National
Project Coordinator; Myrna Lambojon, GDRR chapter project coordinator; Marky
Brayn Yaung, American Red Cross program coordinator, local government officials
and representatives of pilot communities also participated in the stakeholders
meeting.
The Greening DRR program involved disaster-prone beneficiary barangays such as
Bonkokan Ubos in Lila; Manaba in Garcia-Hernandez and Valladolid in Loboc
through nature-based solutions in community level disaster risk reduction
approaches for its pilot implementation in coordination with the PDRRM office of the
provincial government.