BAGUIO CITY – On April 21, the Office of Civil Defense Cordillera (OCD-CAR) and NEDA Cordillera oriented regional agencies on the necessary tools to properly assess the economic losses and human recovery needs of the Cordillera region due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ).
The conduct of the “Economic Losses and Human Recovery Needs Assessment” is a modified version of the “Post-Disaster Needs Assessment” tool used by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) to detail and validate the damages, losses, and human recovery needs incurred during times of disaster. This assessment will later on be detailed in a regional recovery and resiliency plan for the Cordillera to be prepared by NEDA-CAR, as the RDRRMC Vice-Chair for Recovery and Rehabilitation.
Given the exceptional and uncommon nature of the global Covid-19 pandemic, this modified needs-assessment tool will focus on the lost economic opportunities of the region such as the forgone or disrupted income of businesses and workers and the added operational and equipment costs of the quarantine implementation to government, health facilities, and business establishments, and other unexpected expenses.
The modified needs assessment will also look at more macroeconomic impacts of the crisis such as changes in prices and regional production. The report will likewise detail how communities have been affected and how they have responded. The agencies will use these data to formulate short, medium, and long-term recovery programs, projects, and activities as well as policy recommendations that would address the needs that emerged during this crisis. NEDA-CAR targets a needs assessment report by the end of May and a prepared rehab and resiliency plan by June.
OCD-CAR Regional Director Albert Mogol commended the regional agencies for showcasing the Cordilleran’s innate resiliency consistent with the spirit of Bayanihan in the coordinated responses to the pandemic and the implementation of the ECQ. “’Wag kayong magsawa na magtulungan”, he added. Mogol said that since there has yet to be a vaccine, “we have to anticipate the new normal in this rehab and resiliency plan”. He highlighted the importance of strong leaders and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in helping the Cordillera face these challenges to help build a better region.**By Marlo T. Lubguban
