Ceremonial Hall, Malacañan Palace
October 14, 2024

“For many years, the Philippines has stood on the frontline of climate crisis… Our vision is clear: to reduce disaster risks and losses, and in doing so, protect lives, livelihoods and the social and economic assets that underpin our societies,” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. conveyed as he welcomed the delegates of the 2024 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) at the Malacañan Palace.

In his toast remarks, the President underscored the Philippines’ commitment to combating existing disaster risks as one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters in the entire region. He noted the conference as very timely, serving as a key platform to discuss more ways to not just reduce the effects of climate change globally, but to also promote disaster resiliency and preparedness.

“This conference comes at a time when our work to implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is more urgent than ever. Here, we can learn from each other, strengthen partnerships, identify innovative ideas and adopt best practices,” he stressed.

“Through this conference, we are presented with the opportunity to explore new avenues of collaboration, especially in leveraging science and technology to alleviate the impact of climate change and ensuring that disaster risk reduction financing is accessible to all. By harmonizing all of our efforts, I trust that we can build an Asia-Pacific region that is truly adaptive, inclusive, resilient and sustainable,” President Marcos Jr. added.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), are hosting the APMCDRR 2024 from 14-18 October 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

The APMCDRR 2024 centers on the theme, ‘Surge to 2030: Enhancing Ambition in Asia-Pacific to Accelerate Disaster Risk Reduction,’ which aims to monitor, review, and enhance cooperation on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 that serves as a blueprint for preventing and reducing new and existing disaster risks in the world’s most disaster-prone regions.

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