ASEAN leaders seek stronger cooperation to mitigate disaster impacts

Ranking leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to discuss how the 11-country bloc can translate regional and global disaster resilience commitments into implementation.

During the two-day ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience (AMCDR) to be held from Sept. 15 to 16 in Manila, the officials will tackle disaster risk reduction, preparedness, anticipatory action, emergency response, recovery, financing, innovation and whole-of-society resilience, a news release posted on the ASEAN 2026 Sunday night showed.

AMCDR is a flagship event of the Philippines' 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship and designed to address one of the region's most persistent and costly challenges: exposure to disaster.

The news release explained that the region “sits within the Asia-Pacific, the most disaster-prone region in the world,” thus, the challenges being faced by the each member-country such as “typhoons, floods, earthquakes, droughts, and extreme weather intensified by climate change.”

These hazards, it said “increasingly interact with rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and other pressures, creating systemic, cascading, and compounding risks.”

It noted that “the stakes extend beyond any single disaster” since the region “represents one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions, with a combined gross domestic product exceeding USD3.6 trillion and a population of more than 670 million.”

“As a major hub for global trade, manufacturing and investment, disaster disruptions can ripple through supply chains and markets far beyond Southeast Asia. Strengthening disaster resilience is therefore essential to sustainable development, economic security and regional stability,” it said.

The Office of Civil Defense, under the Department of National Defense (DND), will host the Conference since it is the country’s National Disaster Management Office.

DND Secretary Gilberto Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who is also chair of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, will be among the speakers.

The other speakers include Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, Special Envoy of the President on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of the Philippines; Dr. Abdul Muhari, Deputy Minister of the National Disaster Management Authority of Indonesia and Chair of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management; and San Lwin, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

-Philippine News Agency