The Minister of International Development of Canada, Harjit Sajjan made a courtesy call on the Office of Civil Defense officials led by Deputy Administrator for Operations, Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV on Saturday at NDRRMC Operations Center, Camp Aguinaldo Quezon City.
OCD officials discussed with the Canadian delegation the mandates of the NDRRMC, disaster response strategies as well as areas of cooperation between Canada and the Philippines on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).
During the meeting, Minister Sajjan conveyed the Canadian government’s willingness to support the Philippine’s DRRM system including the strengthening of search and rescue operation capabilities.
Accompanying the minister is the Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency David Hartman, and members of the Canadian diplomatic staff.
Meanwhile, Asec. Alejandro emphasized the need to continuously improve DRRM systems through international engagements.
“Our country’s experiences have highlighted the need for us to further strengthen our DRRM system. Indeed, we continue to learn from the models and experiences of our foreign counterparts on their implementation of their DRR programs and we intend to fully harness the advantages of those best practices.” Asec. Alejandro said.
“This activity is an expression of our desire to continue nurturing a strong working partnership with you (Canada) as we strive to strengthen the response, preparedness and resilience of both our state and people against all hazards.” he added.
Also present during the meeting were Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jesus Domingo, OCD Asec. Hernando Caraig Jr., OCD Operations Service Officer-in-Charge Susan Quiambao, Global Affairs Canada Director General of Southeast Asia, Ms. Carrie Goodge O’Brien, Office of the Minister-Director for Operations, Ms. Emily Heffernan, Canadian Embassy Counsellor and Head of Cooperation, Mr. John Lok, and Member of Parliament for Mississauga–Streetsville, Ms. Rechie Valdez. (VICTOR BALDEMOR RUIZ)
