Private and Public Sector Thought Leaders Attend This Year’s Philippine Flood Virtual Summit
Climate change is real. This natural phenomenon has brought chaos and havoc to many nations and people. It is not only the destruction that sends chills down our spines, but the fearful prospects of human demise.
But there is one thing that leaders can do; to be prepared and act together towards a singular objective, and that is to minimize to the barest minimum the damages caused by floods.
Mykar Events Consultancy, an internationally renowned events group, has pooled together the great minds of Philippine technocrats to provide synergy for flood protection via a two-day webinar. Dubbed as the Philippine Flood Management Virtual Summit, the webinar invited professional speakers to provide technical impetus to webinar participants.
Named as Webinar Chairman is Dr. Andreas Klippe, a German Engineer and Philippine Resident who is also the President and CEO of Flood Control Asia RS, Corp.
Scheduled to deliver talks during the first day (November 11) were as follows:
- Sec. Roger Mendoza – Secretary, Dept. of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Highlighted government programs and plans to mitigate annual flooding in the country especially in Metro-Manila.
- Ms. Sheila Lobien – CEO, Lobien Realty Group presented a very comprehensive guide in purchasing properties. She likewise provided a smart guide to property selection especially for industrial and production companies.
- Mr. Ramon Abiera-Director, Infrastructure and Construction Focus Group, Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines
- Mr. Eric Leong, Managing Director, Million Corporation PTE – Provided a highly-technical output on flood forecasting and alarm systems in coordination with PAGASA.
- Mr. Felix Ayque– Founder, Komunidad Global PTE – Also provided a very comprehensive output on typhoon signaling and forecasting.
- Mr. Roy Badillo-Chief, Hydrometeorology Division DOST-PAGASA – Summarized the most recent technologies and technical plans of the PAGASA focusing more on the radars that are the “eyes” of the country in weather prediction.
November 12, day 2 of the webinar was even more intense in discussions with the following personalities taking center stage and delivering highly-technical and comprehensive talks.
- Dr. Patricia Anne Jaranilla-Sanchez – Professor, University of the Philippines, Los Banos. Discussed the role of the academe in crafting policies and future plans for its participation in the flood mitigation programs of the government.
- Mr. Julius Umali – Geologist- Mines and Sciences Bureau, Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. – Presented the Geo-hazzard map of the Philippines showing the most vulnerable and dangerous areas in terms of flooding, landslides, and earthquakes.These areas are placed in high priority watch whenever calamities strike.
- Dr. Andreas Klippe – President and CEO, Flood Control Asia RS Corp. – Presented a very detailed output on the use of demountable flood barriers and other flood control devices for homes, factories, government buildings, critical infrastructures, etc. He demonstrated the individual usage of flood control systems in the different powerpoint slides, creating a very clear idea and picture of flood protection for everyone.
- Ms. Ilse Gayle – Vice President of Strategy, Advanced Environmental Monitoring. – Ms. Gayle presented a highly detailed presentation on her company’s methods of environmental monitoring using advanced methodologies and equipment. This is also in connection with their cooperation with the Dept.of Environment and Natural Resources that is targeted to bring-about an inter-agency collaboration in advanced environmental monitoring so as to be able to be of proactive stance in the future. Usage of intelligent data to plan ahead and improve the action.
- Mr. Alois Bacher – Director of Sales,Pumps Southeast Asia – Presented a highly detailed presentation about the function and efficiency of surface pumps. The electro-mechanical technology can meet huge requirements in flood dissipation. These pumps can drain floodwaters at the soonest possible time. These will be very useful in critical infrastructures that need to drain floodwaters to prevent more damages in the future.
- Mr. Slavko Veliclov – Bently Systems. Global Sales Director. A technical presentation utilizing digital data for maps and water management that can be utilized not only in terms of flood protection but also in the aspect of agriculture and maybe domestic water use.
Over two hundred participants came from various reputable government agencies of the country, Local Government Units, local and international investment and financial firms, architects, and engineering companies, and leading suppliers for flood management.
The event ended with a panel discussion. Participating as panelists were Arch.. Felino “Jun” Palafox from Palafox Associates; Mr. Ramon L. Albiera, the Director of ICFG; Mr. Greg Ariz III, Chief Project Monitoring and Evaluation Division, NEDA-CAR; Mr. Noel M. Ortigas, the Executive Vice President of EDCOP; and Mr. Vonne B. Villanueva, the CDRRMO Head of Navotas City.
The discussion highlighted the issues regarding the plans of the government concerning flood-related projects, including environmental and geographic issues of the country that highly affects flooding. Various interventions were proposed including tunnel systems and floodways. However, there are several technological restrictions from the government
