More Filipino communities are benefiting from the disaster resilience initiatives of PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).
Two municipalities in the province of Aurora, Casiguran, and Dingalan, each received a Ligtas Kit from PLDT and Smart, strengthening their respective emergency preparedness, response, and recovery programs through sustainable and inclusive communication technology.
“Communication is now considered a lifeline and has become as essential as food and water in times of disasters. To date, we have distributed PLDT and Smart Ligtas Kits to more than 30 cities and municipalities nationwide,” said Cathy Yang, First Vice President and Head of Group Corporate Communications at PLDT and Smart.
Casiguran and Dingalan are coastal municipalities in the Eastern part of Luzon with the Philippine Sea right beside them. Apart from the typhoons that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility affecting Aurora, both towns have also gone through destructive earthquakes in the last two decades.
“Typhoons regularly occur in Dingalan, which led us to incorporate learnings from these experiences into our comprehensive development, land use, and disaster preparedness and contingency plans. All were properly consulted with various sectors and organizations. We aim for an inclusive participation of our communities by soliciting their recommendations for our local government projects, especially for disaster preparedness and response,” said Mayor Shierwin Taay of Dingalan, Aurora.
“Our local government has implemented various interventions to assist our farmers and fisherfolk especially when disasters occur. We provide them with trainings and subsidies to strengthen their capacity to respond and recover fast from disasters that may come their way,” said Casiguran Mayor Roy Soriano.
With farming and fishing as their main source of livelihood, Casiguran and Dingalan remain to be among the most vulnerable communities in Luzon. The PLDT and Smart Ligtas Kit provide the municipalities’ respective disaster risk reduction and management offices with stable and reliable access to communication.
“The Ligtas Kit will strengthen our institutional communication capacity and enable us to deliver our services in disaster preparedness and response to communities better,” Mayor Shierwin added.
“We still have barangays with little to no mobile signal. The SAT phone included in the Ligtas Kit given to us will greatly help us in our emergency response operations. This can assist us in providing them with updated information regarding incoming disasters and in contacting them should one start happening,” Mayor Roy added.
The PLDT-Smart Ligtas Kit is part of the #SafeandSmart advocacy through inclusive communication technology. This is also aligned with the UNSDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.