Proposed Cagayan de Oro City Elementary School & Evacuation & Command Center

Philippine cities face disaster from rising seas and increasingly lethal typhoons propelled by climate change. Bea Montenegro reports for GMA News that Cagayan de Oro, a provincial capital in Mindanao, was recognized this month for its evacuation and command center strategy.

The competition was conceived by the Makati City-based National Competitiveness Council and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Other entities that aided with the effort include Microsoft, the Urban Land Institute and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), which supports regional economic growth.

The Liveable Cities Design Challenge is a planning and design competition whose main aim is to promote smarter city planning, helping cities and municipalities prepare for a “climate-defined future.” The contest also encouraged contestants to design cities that provide safety and sustainability options for its people.

Cagayan de Oro won the government/evacuation center category and Iloilo won the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) meeting venue category.

Earlier this year, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Office of Civil Defense held an information campaign to help local government officials bolster their local disaster preparedness and risk management plans.

“Cities represent our country’s growth centers,” said Guillermo Luz, Private Sector Co-Chairman of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC). “For cities to grow sustainably, they must be able to attract more investments. For investments to come though, our cities need to be better planned and built.”

In March 2014, the NCC and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) came up with the idea for the Liveable Cities Design Challenge.

Other institutions involved in the development of the competition are Microsoft Philippines, Asia Society Philippines, APEC 2015 National Organizing Council (APEC 2015 - NOC), Urban Land Institute Philippines (ULI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Reconstruction (ASSURE).

ASSURE was formed in January this year by concerned professional who wanted to help Yolanda-affected areas rebuild their homes.

CDO’s entry, dubbed “Oro Central,” will serve as a central command hub for coordinating action in times of disaster. Its primary purpose is as a public school with over 200 classrooms, laboratories, a multimedia library, parks and playgrounds, and office spaces. In times of need, it will serve as an evacuation center; mobile clinics and showers can be set up in the parking lot, multi-purpose halls will be assembly areas for agencies and distribution areas, and the sky garden will be used both as a debriefing area and a wellness area.

In its entry, Iloilo City prioritized the rehabilitation and redesigning of the city’s existing cultural areas. Areas for redesign include Fort San Pedro and Sunburst Park. The former City Slaughter House is going to be replaced by the Rivercraft Pavilion. In their plans, Iloilo emphasized open areas for recreation and leisure, along with environment-friendly design.

According to Gloria Steele, USAID’s Mission Director for the Philippines and the Pacific Islands, around 62 percent of growth is centered in Metro Manila and Calabarzon. She stressed that this growth should be dispersed throughout the country, so that development also reaches the rural areas.