The partnership between government and the private sector – including non-government and civil society organizations (NGO/CSO) – is invaluable in helping Filipinos recover from major calamities like Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013.
This was one of the lasting lessons that former Senator and Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) Ping Lacson cited as he visited Tacloban City recently.
“Even local government units will face difficulty without the private sector’s help.”
“One lesson I learned is this. The government cannot live by itself. It needs the cooperation of the private sector. Even local government units will face difficulty without the private sector’s help. That is the lesson I learned while working as PARR,” Lacson, who served as PARR from late 2013 to early 2015, said in Filipino at a gathering of local officials from Samar led by Gov. Sharee Ann Tan, at the Summit Hotel here.
Yolanda’s swath of destruction covered 171 cities and towns in six regions. Tacloban and Samar were among the areas devastated by the super typhoon when it hit in November 2013.
“Our national government must trust in the private sector, including NGOs and CSOs. They are very important partners in dealing with crises and other key government programs,” he said in an interview with Bombo Radyo Tacloban.
“Here in Leyte, there are two unforgettable events in history: Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s fulfillment of his promise to return to Leyte to liberate the Filipinos on Oct. 20, 1944; and Super Typhoon Yolanda. These are events in history that the people of Leyte and the Philippines will never forget,” Lacson stressed.
Despite financial and logistical limitations – including no salary or operating expenses for the first four months, Lacson fulfilled his mandate as PARR by tapping the help of the private sector, meeting with captains of industry on how to help those affected by Yolanda.
“I met the Who’s Who in the business community, and they were more than willing to help.”
“I met the Who’s Who in the business community, and they were more than willing to help,” he recalled.
Over seven months, some 1,289 private sector-NGO projects were reported to the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery, with pledges amounting to P11.8 billion.
Lacson said the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center, Palo Park, and housing for those affected by Yolanda would not have been possible without the help of the private sector partners.
Also, Lacson and his staff put together in a record six months an 8,000-page Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan (CRRP) that can be used as a template in dealing with future calamities.
“Even the United Nations and the international community acknowledged that in a record time of six months, we finished the CRRP not just by ourselves but with the help of foreign and local partners in the private sector,” he said.
