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Catbalogan City hosts UN-recognized LGUs from 19 countries

TACLOBAN CITY, March 1 (PNA)-- Catbalogan City, the capital of Samar province, will host the United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC) on April 5-7, 2017.

This is the first time the city will host an international event, according to Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan.

UCLG, the only local government organization recognized by the United Nations, enlists Catbalogan as its lone local government unit (LGU) member in Eastern Visayas region. It became a member in 2015.

“We want to showcase Catbalogan as a sustainable city. Even if it is a small city and was chartered a decade ago, we are a growing city. We want to maximize the event and help other local government units, the youth groups, and women’s groups to create connection with the international leaders,” Tan said.

There will be a presentation and a discussion on the Sendai Framework for action at the local level.

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 outlines seven clear targets and four priorities for action to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks. These are: (1) Understanding disaster risk; (2) Strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk; (3) Investing in disaster reduction for resilience and; (4) Enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response, and to "Build Back Better" in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

The Framework was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.

The Asia-Pacific region has 19 member countries and they will send three representatives each country.

The mayor expects 150 participants from international and national delegation.

Tan will also speak about the role of Catbalogan in the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on November 8, 2013. She said no local government can be independent especially during disasters. “We need the support of one another,” Tan said.

There will be pre-conference on local scale for the youth, women, and other local government units. There will be commitment to be submitted to the Secretariat.

The UCLG ASPAC is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia with its secretariat headed by Bernardia Tjandradewi. (PNA)
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