With thousands of relief packs distributed and even more coming, it is clear that the spirit of community engagement is alive and well in the Davao region.
All this, despite the earthquake and the negative comments coming from certain quarters who sought to politicize the disaster.
What matters at this point is the recovery and reconstruction that needs to take place quickly in order to ensure business continuity. We cannot allow disruptions like this to affect our economic growth. In the end it it up to use to help each other weather any storm, political or natural. Be they through our taxes or our donations, the assistance needs to keep coming.
The reality is that international organizations have already regarded the Philippines is one of the most disaster prone areas on the planet, due to our geographical position within the typhoon belts of asia, and our position in the pacific ring of fire exposing us to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Moving forward, there are a few good practices we can adopt
At the enterprise level, Business Continuity Planning is essential to the survival and and continuous growth of our businesses and the economy.
This allows us to make quick decisions and assure continuous operations at the soonest possible time. This is critical for Information and Communications Technology Companies with clients abroad. This is also vital for hotels and restaurants, hospitals and health care facilities that may see a deluge of customers and availments during a disaster.
Likewise, it is vital that support networks and logistics systems for the immediate distribution of relief goods and reconstruction activities be institutionalized further. Higher level cooperation between the DSWD, Local government units and civil society organizations to make sure that the relief is given where and when it is needed at the soonest possible time.
Thankfully, the response to this disaster has been tremendous and help has been given. The smiles on the faces and the grateful messages of those affected are proof positive that the helping network has been established.
Congratulations to the Davao Chamber for a successful Japan trade mission.
The highlight of the trade mission to Japan from the Davao City Chamber included the signing of another sister chamber agreement, this time with Hitachinaka City, about 100 kilometers from Tokyo in Ibaraki prefecture.
This city is home to the Hitachi companies and Komatsu.
This arrangement will surely boost business ties and create more opportunities for business exchange. This will mean more markets for our exports and other non traditional products such as Information Technology products.
