The Center for Disaster Preparedness Foundation Inc. (CDP) entered its eleventh (11th) year of service in 2009 as a resource center in community based disaster risk management (CBDRM). From its early beginnings in 1997 as the Disaster Resource Training Center carved out of the Training and Education Desk of the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center, CDP was registered as an independent institution with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission on January 4, 1999.

With capability building as its core competency, CDP has contributed to the enabling of communities and service providers from the NGOs and government sector in various areas of CBDRM. Through training, interactive fora, consultancies, research and publication, networking and advocacy, CDP has contributed to the mainstreaming of CBDM, specifically the proactive measures of preparedness, mitigation and prevention, in the agenda and operations of local and international groups.

From capability building projects implemented from 1997 to 2001 alone, 161 training with at least 2,600 participants were conducted with community, non-government organizations and local government partners all over the Philippines. Key project partners for CDP institutional and training activities in the Philippines were the Dutch Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (now CARE-Netherlands) through the “Preparedness Support Program” together with the Citizens’ Disaster Response Network, Diakonisches Werk through the “Institutional Support” and “Ideally Prepared Communities”, the Japanese Embassy Small Grants Assistance for Grassroots Projects through the “Improvement of Community Based Disaster Management in Selected Regions in the Philippines”, and Caritas Netherlands (now CORDAID) through the “Translation of Disaster Management Manual Project”.

After the end of key training projects in 2001, CDP had been contracted by local and international agencies to facilitate CBDRM training and workshops. Aside from active participation in the development of the CBDRM course module and instructional materials of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC),  CDP has been engaged to facilitate CBDRM training in Bangladesh, Laos and the Pacific Islands through ADPC and the World Vision network.

CDP has been successful in promoting the CBDRM framework and the Philippine experiences and practice through local and international networking and advocacy. CDP spearheaded in 2001 the formation of the Philippine Disaster Management Forum (PDMF), a network of disaster management practitioners currently engaged in advocacy for enabling legislative and policy environment for CBDM. CDP championed the holding of the First National in Conference on Community Based Disaster Management in the Philippines in January 2002, which was jointly organized by the National Disaster Coordinating Council-Office of Civil Defense and PDMF. CDP also seized opportunities to present papers in international conferences to show and tell that CBDRM works. The Second National Community Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was convened  by eleven (11) community organizations – Buklod Tao, PROMISE-Dagupan City 8 Barangays (Brgys. Mangin, Pogo Grande, Pogo Chico, Lasip Grande, Bacayao Norte, Bacayao Sur, Salisay, Tebeng) Bigkis Lakas ng Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Balanacan, and COTIPABA Sorsogon with support from CDP, CBDRM Training and Learning Circle-Phils, Christian Aid Building Disaster Resilient Communities Project, and DRRNetPhils.

The past years were indeed full of opportunities to enrich knowledge and practice in CBDRM which benefited not only CDP’s partners, but also CDP itself. In 2009, CDP continues to commit itself to more sharing and learning in CBDRM to achieve public safety, disaster resilience and equitable and sustainable community development. New areas in CBDRM which CDP will continue to engage in include urban disaster mitigation, children and youth participation, governance, climate change and environmental management, and gender.