“Collaboration amongst government agencies, local governments, and the private sector, and communities is the key to effective and successful disaster risk reduction and management,” said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. in his message during the last leg of the 2023 HANDA Pilipinas with the theme “STY Yolanda Remembered: Understanding Risks and Preventing Disasters” held at the Summit Hotel, Tacloban City on 08-10 November 2023. 

HANDA Pilipinas is an annual exposition of innovations in disaster risk reduction and management supported by the attached agencies of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Bringing the expo to Visayas and Mindanao for the first time in 2023, it featured various lectures on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and exhibits of DOST-supported DRRM technologies that focus on disaster preparedness, response, prevention and mitigation, rehabilitation and recovery. 

Held simultaneously as the 10th year anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda which heavily struck Tacloban City, President Marcos highlighted during the exposition’s Visayas leg that the innovations and technologies featured in the event will help Filipino communities become better prepared for natural disasters in the future. The President encouraged the utilization of DOST-supported DRRM technologies, “I implore everyone to maximize the use of these technologies [and] to fast-track the widespread adoption and commercialization,” he said. 

Also carrying the thrust of strengthening disaster resilience through health research, the DOST- Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) showcased six DRRM for health technologies during the expo. 

Under prevention and mitigation, the DOST-PCHRD presented the Community Dengue Early Warning System (C-DEWS) of the Isabela State University, and the Sanipod Self-contained Disinfecting Cubicle and HyPerUV N95 Mask Disinfection device of the University of the Philippines Manila’s Surgical Innovation and Biotechnology Laboratory (UP SIBOL) Program. 

For disaster response, technologies featured were UP SIBOL’s RxBox Telemetry System along with the UP Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health (DRRM-H) Center’s Simulation-based Learning Laboratory virtual reality tool. The UP Manila DRRM-H Center also showcased the DOST-PCHRD-supported e-Ligtas disaster resource mapping and damage assessment software under the disaster rehabilitation and recovery cluster. 

DOST-PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Jaime C. Montoya reiterated the Council’s support and expressed his vision for DRRM for health in the country. “I hope that the success of HANDA Pilipinas will lead to fruitful collaborations and more beneficial innovations that will strengthen the resilience of our communities,” said Dr. Montoya.

Other DOST-supported technologies highlighted in the DRRM exhibits are disaster response vehicles, ready-to-eat relief foods, emergency disinfection systems, disaster simulators, early warning systems, and more. 

The 2023 HANDA Pilipinas was first launched in Luzon last 27-29 July 2023  at the World Trade Center, Pasay City with the theme “Risk Reduction in Megacities,” followed by the Mindanao Leg on 04-06 October 2023 at the Limketkai Center, Cagayan De Oro City carrying the theme “Enhancing Resilience and Sustainability for Mindanao.”