When disaster strikes the Philippines, the private sector plays a central role in response and recovery. Veronica Gabaldon, Executive Director of the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), shared how the organization has become a public-private partnership model for disaster risk reduction and business continuity.
Founded in 2009 after a major typhoon, PDRF is a private-sector-led, non-profit organization that coordinates preparedness, response, and recovery efforts across industries. Through its cluster system, PDRF groups member companies by their core competencies — from infrastructure, logistics, telecoms, and utilities to finance and healthcare — creating a robust coordination mechanism that works seamlessly with government and humanitarian systems.
At the heart of PDRF’s operations is HANDA, an ArcGIS-based monitoring and incident management platform that integrates hazard data from multiple government sources. This tool allows businesses to overlay their facilities and employee locations with real-time hazard information, supporting rapid decision-making during crises.
Beyond emergencies, PDRF focuses on capacity building. Through its Business Continuity and Organizational Resilience program, it helps both large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) strengthen their continuity capabilities. Recognizing that 99% of Philippine businesses are SMEs, PDRF simplified the traditional BCP process into accessible, 6–10-step frameworks, published in local dialects and distributed through guidebooks and toolkits.
In partnership with the government, PDRF also co-developed the Public Service Continuity Plan (PSCP) — a government-wide framework to ensure that essential services remain functional during disasters. A national memorandum has since mandated all agencies to create their PSCPs, a major step toward institutionalizing resilience.
“Resilience is no longer an option,” Gabaldon emphasized. “It’s an imperative — and it must be ecosystem-wide.”
Through these initiatives, PDRF has fostered what Gabaldon calls a “resilient ecosystem” — where business, government, and communities collectively anticipate, withstand, and adapt to disruptions.
Focuses on PDRF’s organizational model, collaboration mechanisms, and national-level initiatives.
| Theme | Key Points (Article 1) | Insights / Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Public–Private Collaboration | • PDRF was established as a private-sector-led foundation that coordinates with government and humanitarian networks. • Uses a cluster system to group member companies by sector. |
Strong coordination model that aligns business continuity with national disaster response systems. |
| 2. Technology and Information Platforms | • Deployment of HANDA, an ArcGIS-based platform integrating multi-agency hazard data. • Enables real-time monitoring and decision-making. |
Data-driven resilience that enhances crisis awareness and cross-sector coordination. |
| 3. Building SME and Public Sector Resilience | • Simplified 6–10 step BCP frameworks for SMEs, translated into local dialects. • Co-development of Public Service Continuity Plans (PSCPs) with the government. |
Broad-based capacity building that embeds resilience at all organizational levels. |
| 4. Mindset Shift | • “Resilience is no longer an option — it’s an imperative.” • Emphasis on ecosystem-wide preparedness. |
Establishes the philosophical foundation for collective resilience thinking. |
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| Collaborative Resilience: Building Area-wide Business Continuity Frameworks | |||||
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