The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
SM Prime Holdings President Hans Sy and other top business leaders in the Philippines have banded to strengthen the country’s disaster risk-reduction and development efforts.
In a forum held recently at the Tower Club in Makati City, top business leaders all pledged to work together to support government efforts that center on making communities and businesses disaster-resilient.
The dialogue, hosted by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Chairman and Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin, was attended by Sy and other top business leaders, including Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp., Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala of Ayala Corp., Faraday Go of Robinson’s Land, Federico Lopez of First Philippines Holdings, Doris Magsaysay-Ho of A. Magsaysay Inc., Manuel Pangilinan of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co./Smart Communications, and Ambassador Roberto Romulo of the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation Inc.
Also among the participants were His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of the Archdiocese of Manila, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, Climate Change Secretary Emmanuel de Guzman, and NDRRMC Executive Director and Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Alexander Pama.
The business leaders expressed their commitment to support efforts that would catalyze and promote convergence of government-private sector disaster risk-reduction and management (DRRM) advocacies and activities.
“This coming together ushers in a new and mutually reinforcing partnerships between and among government and private-sector companies. By this time, we can cover more bases and promote efficiencies in our efforts,” Gazmin said.
Pama said the participation of big business would boost the effectiveness of the national DRRM program.
“We have fulfilled our mission, but much more needs to be done in the areas of building resiliency and preparedness in our communities. We need to build on our initial successes by addressing other equally important pillars of DRR, such as building resilient infrastructures and promoting business continuity, specially among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). With such huge tasks, it is important we strengthen collaboration with the private sector,” Pama said.
The business leaders welcomed the opportunity to work with government in the areas of economic risk assessment; business operations continuity; sustainable livelihoods; disaster-risk financing; logistics and supply-chain management; communications and infrastructure; and health and safer shelter, among others.
They recognized the importance of designating focal points for coordination in the public and private sector to ensure the unimpeded delivery of interventions.
In line with this, a scooping of current private-sector efforts will be done.
The NDRRMC members present even encouraged their counterparts in the private sector to find their niche to add further value to the national DRRM effort.
Sy, for his part, said he had always been an advocate of DRRM, as he had made it a core in all of SM Prime’s projects.
“I’ve always been a firm believer that DRR makes good business sense, and I’ve been practicing that actually, for, I should say, more than 20 years, or in fact, maybe 30 years, but also maybe because basically I am an engineer myself, so I’m very conscious about these programs,” he said.
Sy also supports the only Filipino International board member of UNISDR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE).
An example of SM’s disaster-resilient business is SM City Marikina, which is in a calamity-prone area. The mall was built on concrete stilts such that when the Marikina River overflowed, it allowed an unimpeded flow of floodwater through the two–level basement parking.
Sy said SM Prime would continue to do DRR, despite the challenges and limitations.
“Rest assured, we will continue to do this. We know there are limitations with the government but these will not stop us from continuing to support whatever government is doing. I would be very happy to work with everyone and make a difference,” Sy said.