BAGUIO CITY – Representatives from the Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Operation Center recently attended a national training workshop capacitating participant on the utilization of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Information System (DRRMIS) and the GeoRiskPH Integrated Platforms that can be applied to their respective offices, particularly on disaster risk reduction and management operations.
The DRRMIS is a web-based system initiated and developed by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (DOST-PHIVOLCS) Department of Agriculture-Field Programs Operational Planning Division (DA FPOPD), DA FPOPD–Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Section and Operations Management Information System (OMIS) Section, which aims to digitalize and centralize reporting of damage and losses, as well as rehabilitation and recovery beneficiaries.
GeoRiskPH on the other hand is a multi-agency initiative led by the DOST-PHIVOLCS that aims to provide protocols and platforms to share hazards, exposure, and other risk information to help people, communities, local governments, and national agencies prepare and plan how to reduce the risks from natural hazards.
An application developed by GeoRiskPH which serves as a platform to facilitate the collection of exposure, vulnerability, and coping capacity data for more comprehensive and accurate planning, and damage and risk assessments.
Crisante Rosario, DA-CAR DRRM Assistant Focal Person explained that the training is part of the current improvements being done by the DA-Central Office, particularly on datasets that need to be included in the system.
“The system is a work in progress, the DA-CAR is familiarizing the standard template for the damage and losses assessment reporting while the ICT/technical team from the Central office is finalizing it”, Rosario said.
The web-based system is perceived to be efficient since the data generated is firmly assessed, corrected, and validated upon or prior to uploading of reports. The system flow is simplified wherein datasets are uploaded from the Municipal Level which will then be verified and submitted to the Regional Offices for final approval of the central office. The inclusion of the Provincial Agriculture Office as the validator and approval of reports of the Municipal encoders was suggested during the training.
“Based on my observation of this multi-agency platform, information on agricultural production areas, number of agricultural facilities, FMRs, among others should also be included. Although the Department of Agriculture can utilize the application for planning, preparedness, and mitigation purposes,” the DRRM Assistant Focal Person stated.
He added that the said system will benefit DA-CAR since datasets entered or uploaded, are immediately corrected especially the bloated reports, detects double reporting, and minimizes errors.
The accountability of every actor/user is also vital and is captured in the system, and is considered as timely reporting, with the challenge of stability of internet connections during disasters wherein communication lines are one of the most affected sectors during calamities.