Corporate Social Responsibility Hedcor Group Sustainability

Barangays in Santa Cruz now disaster-ready

July 25, 2019

With over six years of experience working for the Barangay Risk Reduction and Management (BRRM) Council in Brgy. Jose Rizal, Sta. Cruz, Davao Del Sur, Datu Elino Isidro knows well that the best way to fight disasters is having the right action plan.

That is why, along with 30 other barangay officials and members of the BRRM team, Hedcor held a Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CBDRRM) training to improve Barangays Sibulan and Jose Rizal’s knowledge on Safety and Risk Management Planning.

“Being prepared for disaster is a hundred percent important because we will never know exactly when a calamity will hit,” Datu Elino shared.

The training included workshops on the formation of organizational structures in the BRRM, hazard identification and evaluation, and contingency planning. Discussions were facilitated by Beverly Mae Brevante, supervising geologist at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. In partnership with the WeatherPhilippines Foundation, topics such as storm tracking and weather tools were also covered.

Lalaine Lonzaga, Hedcor’s Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, emphasized the importance of knowledge when it comes to disasters.

“More than any equipment, a barangay will be disaster resilient if they are risk informed. The BDRRM plan is a solution-focused and science-based method to protect a community from disaster,” Lonzaga shared.

Hedcor’s partners, the Aboitiz Foundation and WeatherPhilippines Foundation, also shared the core of the initiative.

"We believe that the communities are integral in strengthening the disaster resilience of our country. Our CBDRRM training sessions aim to help the barangays and help them deeply appreciate DRRM efforts so they can help implement them successfully at the community level," said Maribeth L. Marasigan, First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Aboitiz Foundation.

The CBDRRM training was timely, as it coincided with the commemoration of the National Disaster Resilience Month.

“Very big thanks to Hedcor for conducting this training. This is very helpful to the community.Barangay Jose Rizal’s capacity to respond to disasters is really improving throughout the years,” Datu Elino remarked.

Hedcor has been proactive in equipping its stakeholders with skills that can best prepare them for disasters. In 2018, Hedcor also held a First Aid and Basic Water Safety training to the same barangays, and donated medical equipment and supplies to further equip its host communities.

Hedcor is a wholly-owned  subsidiary of AboitizPower. It operates 21 run-of-river hydropower plants across the country and has a total gross capacity of 258 MW of clean and renewable energy.