A private sector-led movement championed by SM Prime Holdings Inc. does not see Philippine construction slowing down despite the setbacks posed by the pandemic.
But ARISE Philippines, the local network of ARISE which is the Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies, sees the need to build more resilient buildings and infrastructure due to natural disasters.
“We cannot and should not slow down. This time around, we need to institute and more resilient processes and systems,” said Vice Admiral Alexander Pama AFP (Ret.), co-chairperson of ARISE – Philippines at a forum on the Building Resilience Index (BRI), an initiative being piloted in the Philippines by the International Finance Corp.
BRI hopes to eliminate the risks on investments in construction due to natural disasters.
Pama said project owners, developers and financiers can benefit from the BRI especially at this time of a burgeoning construction industry in spite of the setbacks of pandemic.
Pama said in 2020, the country recorded 31,026 construction projects valued at P63 billion of which 4,670 approximately 18 percent were new non- residential constructions that include building projects for commercial, industrial and institutional purposes,
The National Capital Region accounted for 21.6 percent or P13.6 followed by Calabarzon, P11.6 billion.
These projects are along the West Valley fault line, Pama said.
“While these numbers are lower versus previous years for obvious reasons, they still represent a substantial amount of investment that are at risk given the hostile natural disasters that impact the Philippines. If we have to build a truly resilient country. We need to make sure that our investments properly protected,” he said.
Pama said the BRI incentivizes building owners and developers to incorporate risk mitigation measures in their plans.
As a tool, the BRI provides financiers the means of evaluating projects and make informed decisions for their investments.
This is especially helpful due to the growing threats by climate change and other geologic hazards ever present in the country.
