The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), representing the Philippines, highlighted the country’s disaster resilience initiatives during the 48th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) on Tuesday (July 28) in Bandung, Indonesia.
During the ACDM meeting, Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) presented the draft ASEAN Strategic Protocol for Emergency and Comprehensive Transformation (ASPECT) Framework, a proposed region-wide framework to improve humanitarian response and coordination during disasters among the ASEAN region.
“ASEAN today faces an increasingly complex risk environment characterized by overlapping climate, health, and humanitarian crises. While our existing mechanisms have significantly strengthened regional cooperation, recent experiences demonstrate the need for faster, more anticipatory, and more coordinated regional action. In this context, there is an opportunity to reinforce the vision of ‘One ASEAN, One Response’ by exploring more predictable, science-informed, and pre-arranged modalities of regional support, while fully respecting national sovereignty and host-state leadership,” Undersecretary Cajipe said on Tuesday.
The ASPECT Framework is a significant initiative under the Philippines' ASEAN 2026 Chairship, supported by the ASEAN leaders during the 48th ASEAN Summit Cebu last May.
Undersecretary Cajipe said the framework will enhance the existing operational mechanisms under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and strengthen the ‘One ASEAN, One Response’ vision by transforming disaster management towards a more automated, science-driven, and proactive response model.
The ASPECT Framework is built on five strategic priorities: regional interoperability, optimized coordination, anticipatory action, community-based risk management, and inclusive assistance focused on protection during disasters, all while upholding national sovereignty and ASEAN centrality.
“Specifically, ASPECT seeks to strengthen existing instruments through anticipatory and science-based triggers; enhanced interoperability; improved coordination mechanisms; and more integrated regional preparedness arrangements. In essence, ASPECT serves as an operational layer that enhances ASEAN's collective ability to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to increasingly complex disasters,” Undersecretary Cajipe pointed out.
Undersecretary Cajipe said the Philippines will host the ASEAN High-Level Meeting on the ASPECT Framework on October 7-8 to further advance the initiative.
“Through this broad and balanced participation, the meeting aims to ensure that the ASPECT Framework is shaped through inclusive, technical, and Member State-led dialogue,” Undersecretary Cajipe said. (YADP)
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