The World Bank has approved a $300 million funding for a project designed to enhance the safety and seismic resilience of selected public buildings in Metro Manila, and to strengthen the government’s emergency preparedness and response.
The World Bank said yesterday the Philippines Seismic Risk Reduction and Resilience Project will upgrade approximately 425 structures including school buildings and health centers to reduce damage from natural hazards such as earthquakes and other climate-related events.
This will reduce risks for approximately 300,000 teachers, students, doctors, patients and staff who are the users of these facilities, the Washington-based agency said.
“Metro Manila or the National Capital Region is the seat of government and the country’s population, economic, and cultural center. Enhancing the safety of its buildings and structures while boosting institutional response to disasters will help protect the lives and safety of more than 12 million residents, including the poor and most vulnerable,” Ndiamé Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, said.
“In addition, it will provide much-needed economic resilience for the country,” he added.
The project aims to improve the capability of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to systematically prepare for and respond to potential overlapping hazards including typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions and pandemics, particularly in line with its mandate under the different national emergency response plans for multiple hazards.
It will finance DPWH’s essential equipment to upgrade its capability for communications and restoration of mobility and transport in Metro Manila after a major earthquake. It will also improve core capacities and capabilities to organize operations and coordinate resources to respond to other emergencies.
The World Bank said retrofitting vulnerable buildings can generate close to four million labor-days throughout Metro Manila, contributing to the economic recovery of the construction sector which has been hit hard by wage losses during the coronavirus pandemic. – Angela Celis
