Learn from the past so we can prepare for the future.
This according to Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) National President and Quirino Gov. Dax Cua, who on Wednesday reiterated the need to develop and adopt a “national-local playbook” that will help the country deal with pandemics while it simultaneously deals with natural calamities.
“Given what we know now about how disasters complicate the COVID-19 response, it makes sense for this playbook to integrate the lessons we have learned in recent weeks.”
Speaking at the World Bank Philippines Economic Update Online Launch Forum, Cua stressed that “building a resilient recovery begins with learning from the experiences of LGUs, identifying what works and what does not, and coming up with a comprehensive playbook and extensive protocols to ensure that we can contain future outbreaks while remaining fully equipped to respond to natural calamities.”
“This playbook, these protocols should not only touch on procedures and processes, but also include provisions for adequate resource mobilization so that LGUs are fully and properly equipped to address challenges, big and small––those brought about by super typhoons that have a diameter of over 2,000 kilometers; and those brought about by viruses like COVID-19 that have diameters that can be measured in nanometers,” explained the local chief executive.
Cua, a panelist at the forum representing local government units (LGUs), pointed out that “it is cognizant of the issues LGUs faced in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic that several months ago I urged the development and adoption of a national-local playbook to contain the COVID-19 virus and to prevent future outbreaks, as LGUs are the country’s first line of defense against public health threats like COVID-19.”
“Given what we know now about how disasters complicate the COVID-19 response, it makes sense for this playbook to integrate the lessons we have learned in recent weeks.”
According to Cua, the objective of a national-local playbook “should be to B.E.A.T. COVID-19 and prevent future outbreaks while factoring in disaster response mechanisms.”
“B.E.A.T.” is an acronym that stands for (1) Boosting local response capacities; (2) Enabling mechanisms and environment for LGUs; (3) Amplifying local government perspectives within the national response framework; (4) Towards building partnerships.
The former legislator said that the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the issues LGUs faced as they worked to contain the spread of the virus.
“Another challenge we LGUs face, especially with regard to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, is the absence of institutional memory.”
“Another challenge we LGUs face, especially with regard to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, is the absence of institutional memory when it comes to a public health crisis of this nature,” lamented Cua.
“Most LGUs are well-equipped to handle disaster response because many LGU officials are guided by their experience––or muscle memory, if you will. This is why LGUs in Bicol have disaster response mechanisms that are honed by decades of dealing with a succession of supertyphoons that have battered their region.”
“But given an unprecedented crisis like COVID-19, most if not all LGUs have little or no experience in public health matters of this scale. Even the medical personnel in our respective bureaucracies lack the kind knowledge and experience necessary to properly address a health concern of this magnitude, so in the case of COVID-19 we have been heavily dependent on guidance from the national government,” he added.
Cua appealed to the World Bank and other organizations for assistance in the development of a playbook or strategy that will better equip LGUs and the national government as they work together to better respond to pandemics and disasters in the future.