RACONTEURPH

Cebuana Lhuiller stages 3rd Disaster Resilience Forum

Following the success of last year's disaster resilience forum, Cebuana Lhuiller gathered once again the country's industry experts in disaster management, risk reduction, and post-disaster rehabilitation at the 2018 READY Disaster Resilience Forum with the theme Disaster Resilience Begins with Me.

This year's theme is an iteration of the past two forums, focusing on the need for everyone including the first responders; communities and families; and individual Filipinos to be ready and be fully equipped to take on an active role in disaster resilience.

"When we started the Disaster Resilience Forum two years ago, our vision was to build a nation of resilient Filipinos - armed with the information and know-how to protect and help others during times of disasters and natural calamities," said Cebuana Lhuiller President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuiller.

"This year, we would like to encourage each and every Filipino to take on a more proactive role in building disaster resilient communities by highlighting personal readiness and security to alleviate massive losses and damages during disasters," he added.

Organized in collaboration with the Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-poor Insurance Markets in Asia (RFPI Asia) and the Mutual Exchange Forum on Inclusive Insurance Network (MEFIN), the third READY Disaster Resilience Forum served as a platform to discuss measures on the disaster resilience of first responders such as members of the army and local policemen against any type of disaster.

Local government and civil societies also shared learnings and best practices to bolster and develop other communities' disaster resilience capabilities. The multi-sector panel discussion seeks to increase awareness on the importance of microinsurance as a disaster-risk financial tool to make every Filipino resilient against calamities and promote each Filipino's role in every phase of disaster risk reduction and management.

Microinsurance in the Philippines grew by 28% or equivalent to 34 million individuals covered, according to Insurance Commission Deputy Commissioner Dorothy Calimag.

The forum welcomed the attendees with the panel discussion titled First Things First: How Resilient are Our First Responders?, featuring Major General Restituto F. Padilla, Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, J5 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Rene S. Meily, president of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Inc.; and Manuel C. Rangasa, chairman and executive director of Local Climate Change Adaptation for Development, Inc.

The second discussion, Moving Forward: How do we Strengthen our Communities' Resilience?, was led by Maribeth L. Marasigan, first vice president and chief operating officer of WeatherPhilippines Foundation; Jorge S. Ebay, associate professor in Community Development at the University of the Philippines-Visayas; and Dr. June Caridad Pagaduan-Lopez, convenor of Citizen's Network for Psychosocial Response.

Lastly, this year's forum closed with the discussion titled On to the Next Step: How can Every Filipino be Ready to Help? facilitated by Stacy de Jesus, head of Community and Digital Communications of Rappler, Inc. and Pebbles Badillo Sanchez-Ogang, executive director of YESPinoy Foundation, Inc.

Other personalities who graced the forum include Commissioner Dennis B. Funa of the Insurance Commission, and Jonathan D. Batangan, first vice president and group head of Cebuana Lhuiller Insurance Solutions, Cebuana Lhuiller Foundation, Inc., and Cebuana Lhuiller Business Solutions; and news anchor and program host, Tony Velasquez of the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) as forum moderator.

Augmenting its advocacy, Cebuana Lhuiller kicked off OurHelp, a donation portal where donor can ensure individuals or communities who do not have access to or means to get insurance coverage for as low as one dollar or 53 pesos. OurHelp originated from the company's National Pilipino Protektado Day, a month-long campaign that insured one million Filipinos in 2016. Donees will get microinsurance that covers accidental death or dismemberment and disability; unprovoked murder and assault; and other causes of death (suicide excluded); as well as cash assistance in case fire hits their home.

Another highlight of 2018 READY Disaster Resilience Forum is the signing of manifesto of this year's disaster resilience forum convenor and partners as an official declaration of their commitment to raise the level of awareness, preparedness, and sustainability of resources of each and every Filipino against disasters.

The third iteration of READY Disaster Resilience Forum sustains Cebuana Lhuiller's disaster resilience advocacy which was launched in 2016. Other initiatives rolled out under the campaign include Cebuana Alerto, an Android app that provides real-time disaster-related information; the creation of the Microinsurance Agents Association of the Philippines (MIAAP), an organization founded to promote the interest and welfare of microinsurance agents nationwide; and the launch of Claims Rapid Action in a Disaster-Stricken Area Operation (RAPIDO), an initiative that enables Cebuana Lhuiller Insurance Solutions (CLIS) to quickly process and settle claims right at the site where the disaster happened.