The Philippines, current chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), has urged its fellow regional bloc members to improve their catastrophe reinsurance initiatives to help communities become more resilient in the face of natural disasters and the adverse impacts of climate change.
Assistant Secretary of Finance Paola Alvarez said that local government units can avail of a parametric disaster insurance program from the Government Service Insurance System. This insurance policy, which is implemented with assistance from the World Bank, is fully ceded to the international reinsurance market, which minimises the risks for the government, she said.
“Because the Bureau of Treasury is the policyholder, the funds will be mobilized faster to the first responders, namely the national government and the [local governments],” she was quoted by Business Mirror.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that the Philippines is improving its building and infrastructure standards to be more resilient from natural disasters. The country is also undertaking other initiatives such as rehabilitation of irrigation systems in order mitigate the impact of erratic climate patterns related to climate change.
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