Manila: Reinforcing local disaster preparedness and strengthening community resilience, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has allocated PHP633 million for the construction, upgrading, and rehabilitation of 24 climate-smart evacuation centers in some of the country's most disaster-prone local government units (LGUs).
According to Philippines News Agency, funded under the DILG's Local Government Support Fund-Support and Assistance Fund to Participatory Budgeting (LGSF-SAFPB), the projects will enhance the capacity of LGUs to carry out safer, more organized, and timely preemptive evacuations. The beneficiary provinces were identified under the National Adaptation Plan 2023-2030 as among those most vulnerable to climate-related hazards.
For Fiscal Year 2025, the program covers nine municipalities: Buguey, Cagayan; Macalelon, Quezon; Lagonoy, Camarines Sur; Borbon, Cebu; Balangiga, Eastern Samar; Leyte, Leyte; Tabontabon, Leyte; Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur; and Tambulig, Zamboanga del Sur. Meanwhile, 15 LGUs are set to receive assistance in Fiscal Year 2026: Burdeos, General Luna, and Patnanungan in Quezon; San Jose, Camarines Sur; San Fernando, Masbate; Anilao and Bingawan, Iloilo; Alegria, Boljoon, Poro, and Ronda in Cebu; Maslog, Eastern Samar; Calubian, Leyte; and Josefina and Tabina in Zamboanga del Sur.
To date, the Unified 911 system operates nine command centers nationwide, including the recently activated Mindanao Regional Command Center in Cagayan de Oro City and the Satellite Command Centers in Pampanga and Maguindanao del Norte. The DILG said the continued investment in resilient evacuation facilities, complemented by an expanding emergency response network, equips LGUs with the infrastructure and capabilities needed to better protect communities before, during, and after disasters.
The department reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with LGUs in localizing disaster risk reduction and management initiatives to build safer, more resilient, and climate-adaptive communities. In his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. highlighted the rollout of Ligtas Pinoy Centers this year to serve as permanent evacuation facilities in provinces highly vulnerable to natural hazards. The President also cited the continued expansion of the Unified 911 system as part of the government's efforts to strengthen emergency response.
'We continue to prioritize public safety through the establishment of a fully operational command and emergency response network for the Unified 911,' he said.
