Save the Children Philippines welcomes partnership with the Department of Education and Prudence Foundation in strengthening safety in schools as millions of children face risk of injury, psychosocial trauma and deaths during disasters and emergencies.
The project-Education Safe from Disasters was launched on January 16, 2019 to be implemented by the Department of Education, in partnership with Save the Children Philippines and Prudence Foundation.
The three year project improves the capacity of learners, teachers, schools staff and officials on disaster preparedness and risk reduction. It also integrates safety and disaster resiliency in the construction and retrofitting of school buildings. The program will be pilot tested in 16 schools division in Metro Manila.
The Philippines ranks third in the 2016 World Risk Index of the most disaster prone countries in the world. Every year, the country is hit by almost all forms of natural and man-made calamities like typhoons, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides. Lingering armed conflict in Mindanao and parts of Visayas continue to disrupt classes and displace families and children.
Lawyer Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines said safety in schools guarantee children’s rights to survival and basic education.
Learners spend five to eight hours in schools during weekdays and their safety and security should be ensured while they are away from parents and guardians.
From 2007 to 2012, a total of 11 Million schoolchildren in the Philippines were affected by major disasters jeopardizing their rights to education and survival.
“Children face the harshest impact of disasters and emergencies, as they miss out on school, suffer injury and worse, deaths,” said Muyot. “We welcome the Education Safe from Disasters as part of our comprehensive child-rights based response to the needs of learners before, during and after disasters and emergencies.”
Save the Children Philippines has been providing emergency response during disasters by establishing Child Friendly Space (CFS) where displaced children can play and learn and Temporary Learning Space (TLS) where school age children can attend alternative classes.
The organization has provided interventions for thousands of displaced children during typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong) that hit Northern Luzon provinces and armed conflict in Marawi. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY — The Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) has been raising the capability of civil engineers to compose the post-earthquake response team and assess damaged buildings.
Training of civil engineers is badly needed since the country is highly vulnerable to destructive earthquakes, said Ferdinand Briones, ASEP regional coordinator for Eastern Visayas (Region 8).
“This is our advocacy to make structures and communities resilient to various hazards. Among our key activities are vulnerability and risk assessment of structures, and capacity building and training,” said Briones, who also heads the Department of Public Works and Highways Northern Samar 2nd district engineering office.
Hundreds of civil engineers, both from private and government sectors of different parts of the region, on Thursday gathered in this city for a two-day training on the group’s disaster mitigation, preparedness and response program.

ASEP has been deploying its volunteers after destructive earthquakes to check buildings, certify if the structure is safe or not, and submit recommendations to local government units.
In 2017, ASEP-Eastern Visayas dispatched responders after the magnitude 6.7 Surigao earthquake on Feb. 10, 2017 that killed eight people and the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in Leyte that killed four people.
“Since we need more volunteers, we have been conducting training in different provinces. These teams of experts can be deployed anywhere in the country where their services are needed after a disaster,” said ASEP national director Cesar Pabalan said.
ASEP is the recognized organization of Structural Engineers of the Philippines. Established in 1961, ASEP has been in existence for more than five decades. The group is known for its publications, such as the different volumes of the National Structural Code of the Philippines and the approved referral codes of the Philippine National Building Code. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)