The Philippine economy contracted by 10.0 percent, year-on-year, in the first three quarters of 2020, given the triple shock brought by the COVID-19 pandemic of a health crisis, strict containment measures, and a global recession of unprecedented scale. Moreover, the country was hit by a series of strong typhoons which may cause delay on the pace of the recovery as economic activities were affected in some areas. This report features disaster risk management (DRM) challenges the country faces and policy recommendations to strengthen its fiscal, physical, and social resilience.
To build a resilient recovery, the government needs to protect the poor, improve preparedness and post-disaster response effectiveness while continuing the effort to flatten the infection curve in the short term. Policy recommendations include:
- Strengthen integration of disaster risks in fiscal strategy and develop agency contingency recovery plans for ready implementation
- Mainstream risk reduction in development planning, infrastructure investments, and ensure adequate budget allocation
- Address fragmentation and capacity constraints in the implementation and oversight of disaster risk management (DRM) programs
- Increase transparency and efficiency of LGU post-disaster spending and clarify cost-sharing between the national and local governments
- Promote “Green Recovery” by investing in resilience and integrating resilience as a pillar in recovery planning and spending