The UP Resilience Institute joins the 25th anniversary of the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) together with steadfast partners, both old and new alike. CDP celebrates 25 years of dedicated service to the people and commitment to building safe and resilient communities by helping cultivate disaster risk reduction systems and resilient practices. Given its rich and vibrant history, the gathering on January 25, 2024 served as a kick-off to a year-long celebration of the organization’s feats and milestones, which will be concluded at the slated Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on DRR hosted by the Philippines in Manila on October 14-17 led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
CDP was borne from a leap of faith by its founding members, Zenaida Delica-Willison, Lorna Victoria, and Eufemia Andaya. Endearingly introduced as “Si Aida, si Lorna o si Fe,” after the famous 80’s song by Marco Sison, these three founding women are the pioneers in Community-Based Disaster Management (CBDM) which was developed and transformed into the Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CBDRRM), now known as the Community-led Inclusive Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (CLICDRRM).
The UPRI and CDP have supported each other in formal collaboration through the Philippine Preparedness Partnership since 2022, a multisectoral partnership among key pillars in humanitarian action for which the UPRI serves as the representative for the academe. Moreover, former UPRI Education Division Director, Dr. Emmanuel M. Luna, also serves as CDP’s Vice President, further establishing the ties between these institutions working with aligned goals towards resilience.