The Procurement Service - Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), through its Gender and Development Focal Point System (GADFPS), took part in the Women’s International Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (WINDRR) Leadership Awards Finalists Forum — a key event at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) 2024 hosted by the Philippine Government in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The PS-DBM was represented by Dr. Maria Teresita M. Semana, PhilGEPS Director and GADFPS member; Ms. Samantha Grace E. Moscoso, Human Resource Development Division Chief and GADFPS Head Secretariat; and Ms. Pam Candice M. Mohammad Tilka, Communications Officer and GADFPS Secretariat member.
The event, held from October 14 to 18 at the Philippine International Convention Center, served as a venue to present women leaders and their stories in disaster risk reduction and management, a field of interest that is always relevant to the country as part of Asia and the Pacific, deemed as the world’s most disaster-prone region.
The PS-DBM acknowledges that women and their children, especially in the marginalized sector, are the ones mostly affected in times of disaster. Hence, women leaders need to take and claim their seats at the decision-making table. Through WINDRR Leadership Awards Finalists Forum, the role of women in disaster mitigation is highlighted, effectively bridging the gender gap in a male-dominated field.
For its part, PS-DBM, under the leadership of Executive Director Genmaries S. Entredicho-Caong, designates members of its workforce to its own Crisis Management Committee, regardless of gender—promoting diversity, inclusivity, and gender equality in the workplace.
Besides the WINDRR Leadership Awards Finalists Forum, also part of the conference was a panel discussion where DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman tackled the allocation of budget resources for prevention investments and disaster response.
The participation of PS-DBM GADFPS members, alongside the discussion of Sec. Pangandaman, ultimately contributed to APMCDRR’s mission to provide participants with an opportunity to review risk reduction efforts, share innovative solutions, and make actionable commitments to accelerate disaster risk reduction by 2030.
The conference brought together governments, civil society organizations, private sector, science and academia, and other stakeholders. | October 21, 2024/PM