The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Tuesday it would continue partnering with the private sector to enhance the country’s disaster response capabilities.

OCD administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, said his recent meeting with the board members of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) in Pasig City was meant to strengthen their partnership with the private sector as “part of the whole-of-nation approach in disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).”

“In our recent meeting with the PDRF board, we affirmed OCD’s commitment to continuously strive towards the betterment of our country’s DRRM with the help of the private sector,” he said in a statement. “PDRF is one of the staunch partners of the government in capacity-building activities, humanitarian response, and other DRRM aspects and efforts. And for that, we are grateful. We will fortify more collaborations.”

The OCD and PDRF had partnerships in the development and launch of the Public Service Continuity Guidebooks, as well as in the provision of technical assistance for training activities, and support for disaster response operations.

They are part of the Philippine Preparedness Partnership, or PhilPrep, a multi-sectoral platform for disaster preparedness.

In this partnership, the OCD, the PDRF, the Center for Disaster Preparedness, and the University of the Philippines Resilience Institute represent the government, private sector, civil society organizations, and the academe, respectively.

The PDRF is the country’s major private sector coordinator for DRRM, enabling links to government agencies, humanitarian institutions, and civil society groups. (PNA)