TACLOBAN CITY, March 19 (PNA) — The United Nations (UN) has recognized a non-government organization that has been providing legal services to disaster survivors in Eastern Visayas during the 2015 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction in Japan on Tuesday.
Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services, Inc. (IDEALS) executive director Edgardo Ligon said he is happy that the UN has now considered legal services as one of the future post-disaster needs.
“Imagine losing all your important documents after a typhoon and no one is around to help you reconstruct these records? Ligon asked. “We are pleased that the award recognizes us and our inclusion in the shortlist, raised our optimism that international organization will support this initiative.”
The UN conferred the award on March 17 at Sendai International Centre in Sendai, Japan in a celebration of the future risk reduction.
The UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction is presented during the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is a biennial forum for information exchange, discussion of latest development and knowledge and partnership building across sectors.
The recognition aims to improve implementation of disaster risk reduction through better communication and coordination amongst stakeholders. It is for government representatives, NGOs, scientists, practitioners, and UN organizations to share experience.
Last year, the UN received 88 nominations from 44 countries. IDEALS was nominated by Atty. Antonio La Viña, Dean of the Ateneo School of Government and Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
In the immediate aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda, IDEALS, backed by Oxfam, supported a lawyers’ group that were providing free legal services to survivors who lost bank cards, civil registration documents, land titles, ownership documents and families who are seeking housing assistance.
Last year, IDEALS with funding support from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has released 90,000 copies of civil records that allowed families to access more than PHP30 million worth of benefits.
As of early this month, 70,000 civil registration documents have been released to disaster survivors in Tacloban City 21 towns in Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar. The NGO is eyeing to provide 100,000 copies by end of March. The United Nation Children’s Fund support the second phase of the project.
From the Philippines, other NGOs included in the shortlist of the 2015 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction are Heifer International, Bogo City and First Lt Ben Fredrick R. Rodriguez, Homeless People’s Federation Philippines, Inc., DOST-UP Dream Project, and Morefuninquezon. (PNA)