More than 60 representatives from local government units from the National Capital Region under the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO), Local Health Office (LHO), and Local Planning and Development Coordination Office (LPDCO) successfully completed the three-day workshop titled, “Tomorrow Ready: Mainstreaming Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases (EREID) Protocol into the Contingency Plan” held from January 22 to 24, 2025 at The Linden Suites, City of Pasig.

Among the topics discussed were the creation and building of organized response in light of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, the operationalization of contingency plans during public health emergencies, and the sharing of LGU best practices that have mainstreamed EREID protocols in their contingency plans.

Through the said workshop, NCR LGUs were able to refresh their knowledge on Contingency Planning and Basic Incident Command System, as well as update their respective Contingency Plans with mainstreamed EREID. During the last day, the participants were able to test and simulate their updated Contingency Plans with the help of the distinguished speakers from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and Department of Health (DOH). 

Moving forward, the DILG-NCR looks at the program as a stepping stone in developing a comprehensive manual and assessment toolkit which will serve as a basis for LGUs in the country in mainstreaming EREID into their Contingency Plans.

“Tomorrow Ready: Mainstreaming Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases (EREID) Protocol into the Contingency Plan” was made possible through the Regional Institutional Development Support (RIDS) and Project Governance for Resilient & Adaptive Social Protection (GRASP). The project aims to make NCR LGUs more resilient, adaptive, child-centric, and disability-inclusive.