Asian mayors eye SanFran system
By PHOEBE JEN INDINO
November 16, 2011
CAMOTES ISLAND, Cebu, Philippines — A batch of government officials from Thailand, Vietnam and India, along with the United Nations (UN) director on strategy for disaster risk management, visited San Francisco, one of the municipalities that comprise the Camotes Islands group, to observe and learn from its best practices.
The town was a recipient of the 2011 United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Awardee for Disaster Risk Reduction last May.
San Francisco Vice-Mayor Alfredo Arquillano Jr. reported that the said officials during their visit last Nov.15 were oriented on how the municipal government was able to mobilize the community through what he calls the “SanFran System.”
“We taught them how the SanFran system was established so that they can replicate it,” he said.
The so-called SanFran system is also called the Purok System, which is a structure empowering the community to check each barangay’s various concerns.
Meanwhile, Arquillano disclosed that it took the local government unit some five years to obtain effective results from the community-driven program it established.
He added that mobilizing community cleanliness has become a way of life among his constituents.
Arquillano and his team last month trained their counterparts in the southern town of Oslob on solid waste and disaster risk reduction management.
He said they have been conducting training exercises in several towns in the province and is willing to bring his team abroad if its services are needed.
Said training referred to by the San Francisco mayor includes the implementation of early warning systems, the formation of an emergency response team, and the allotment of funds for disaster risk management and risk assessment.
Moreover, aside from the mayors coming from aforesaid three Asian countries, local officials from neighboring provinces also came to San Francisco for the same purpose.
It can be recalled that last August, four government officials from Sri Lanka also visited the said town to learn from local officials and others responsible for effecting San Fancisco’s good practices.
The Camotes Islands lie some 33 nautical miles northeast of Cebu City and is comprised of four islands, that is, Pacijan or San Francisco town; Poro, which is composed of Poro and Tudela towns; Ponson or Pilar town and Tulang, an island barangay.
The town was a recipient of the 2011 United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Awardee for Disaster Risk Reduction last May.
San Francisco Vice-Mayor Alfredo Arquillano Jr. reported that the said officials during their visit last Nov.15 were oriented on how the municipal government was able to mobilize the community through what he calls the “SanFran System.”
“We taught them how the SanFran system was established so that they can replicate it,” he said.
The so-called SanFran system is also called the Purok System, which is a structure empowering the community to check each barangay’s various concerns.
Meanwhile, Arquillano disclosed that it took the local government unit some five years to obtain effective results from the community-driven program it established.
He added that mobilizing community cleanliness has become a way of life among his constituents.
Arquillano and his team last month trained their counterparts in the southern town of Oslob on solid waste and disaster risk reduction management.
He said they have been conducting training exercises in several towns in the province and is willing to bring his team abroad if its services are needed.
Said training referred to by the San Francisco mayor includes the implementation of early warning systems, the formation of an emergency response team, and the allotment of funds for disaster risk management and risk assessment.
Moreover, aside from the mayors coming from aforesaid three Asian countries, local officials from neighboring provinces also came to San Francisco for the same purpose.
It can be recalled that last August, four government officials from Sri Lanka also visited the said town to learn from local officials and others responsible for effecting San Fancisco’s good practices.
The Camotes Islands lie some 33 nautical miles northeast of Cebu City and is comprised of four islands, that is, Pacijan or San Francisco town; Poro, which is composed of Poro and Tudela towns; Ponson or Pilar town and Tulang, an island barangay.
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