Taking the example of the PHL and its legal set up (DM Act 2010 and Memorandum 60) as a starting point the group discussed other country examples like Nepal and possibilities for regional exchanges and advances in AA. In the Philippines the DM Act was introduced in 2010, enabling Local Government Units to access preparedness and quick response funds. Ana Dizon from the START Network explains for the PHL “The resources were established with the DM Act 2010 but couldn’t be used for FbA. That’s why Memorandum 60 was needed”. The memorandum 60 from 2019 builds upon the DM act and specifies that “A city municipality, province, or region may be declared under a State of Calamity when any of the following conditions brought about by natural and/or human induced disasters are present: At least 15% of the forecasted affected population based on science-based projection are in need of emergency assistance.” So Memorandum 60 now enables authorities to use parts of emergency funding already before the event based on forecasts. The participants concluded that it is important to collect evidence, reach out to stakeholders beyond the humanitarian sphere and to support the government in operationalizing national and regional policy frameworks like the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework.

Hilla Wessel