Disaster response officers, together with local chief executives, are collaborating to achieve a disaster-resilient Negros Island Region (NIR) comprised of Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

The commitment was made during the first Negros and Siquijor Island Region Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Summit themed “One Disaster Resilient Region” held in this city in northern Negros Occidental on Friday.

In his message, Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, who is also the president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives (ACE), said the summit benchmarks a strong and united NIR in building more disaster-resilient communities that cannot only weather the storms but emerge stronger.

“Let us transform vulnerability into strength, despair into hope, and build a Negros-Siquijor Island Region that can stand against any calamity, storm or disaster,” he said.

In June, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12000 or an Act Establishing the NIR.

Benitez said Victorias City hosts one of the nearly 100 evacuation centers built across the country mentioned by the President in his third State of the Nation Address on July 22.

Under the city’s Disaster Resilient Community Agenda, the PHP55-million Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center (VCCEC), which is the summit’s venue, was established in March this year.

The VCCEC is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for efficient monitoring and swift emergency response.

“Here in Victorias City, we commit to implementing measures to proactively mitigate risks and prepare for the inevitable,” Benitez said.

At least 126 participants attended the Negros and Siquijor Island Region DRRM Summit organized by the Alliance of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers of Negros Island (ADRRMONI) headed by its president by Jose Yusay III, the municipal DRRM officer of Hinoba-an, Negros Occidental.

Part of the summit is the exposition on DRRM responses and technologies and the presentation of state-of-the-art disaster response vehicles, equipment and gadgets.

In Negros Island, the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on June 3 is the most recent disaster that affected both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. (PNA)