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RESULT III ADVOCACY LINKAGES TO METRO YAKAL PLUS By Mary Ann Llanza
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reventive measures over reactive scrambles. Collaboration over isolation. These are what constitute an effective risk reduction approach toward an earthquake projected to be so destructive that it’s commonly referred to as “The Big One.”
MMDA chair, during the 2017 colloquium. “We will really have to rely not only on the community effort but also from the outside, neighboring provinces.”
Oplan Metro Yakal Plus, or Metro Manila’s contingency plan on the projected 7.2 magnitude earthquake from the movement of the West Valley Fault, is a step in the right direction toward disaster preparedness. However, it’s limited to just that: a contingency plan of Metro Manila. The Big One requires a wider preparation effort that reaches all the areas that would be affected, and that includes the neighboring provinces of the nation’s capital. One of which is Cavite.
As PROJECT VIPER was working on Cavite’s contingency plan, a massive development changed the project’s focus.
Thus, Project VIPER aimed to integrate the Cavite Contingency Plan with Oplan Metro Yakal Plus, which is to be carried out by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), national government agencies and the other stakeholders operating in the National Capital Region. “When the earthquake happens, the assumption is that only about 30% of government resources in Metro Manila will be available,” said Mon Santiago, then
Shifting Priorities
The national government recognized the potential effect of the Big One to the surrounding provinces of Metro Manila. It stated in a report that as “Oplan Metro Yakal Plus accounts for the response within the affected areas in Metro Manila ONLY,” there is no elaborate reference for the risk estimates in the two regions surrounding Metro Manila, which are Central Luzon and Calabarzon. The report called for something to be done, and in February 2018, it finally happened. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) approved the “Harmonized National Contingency Plan for the 7.2 Magnitude Earthquake.”
