Dear Cedric,

Happy New Year.

Thank you for your time and patience last week when I visited Legazpi. I was very impressed with the planning and coordination that the PDCC and Provincial authorities had put into the response to the potential Mayon eruption, and can well sympathise with the challenges that you would have had with an extended displacement and reintegration. As it is I believe the challenges that you face in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management are significant given the hazards you face. However, I would like to say that I have worked in disaster situations in many countries around the world and, in my own professional opinion, the provincial  preparedness and planning is amongst the best that I’ve seen. I’m very glad that Oxfam have been documenting the situation as I believe it could make a good case study for disaster management training.  

 As I write I understand that the volcano alert status has been dropped to level 3, and people are starting to return home, which is good news for the New Year indeed. As I mentioned during our telephone conversation this morning Agnes Palacio mentioned I should contact you regarding the needs you will have on Early Recovery during the return/reintegration period, and also for the 10,000 people I understand who cannot be resettled inside the 6 km zone.

As you suggested during my visit last week, I made contact with the Albay Milennium Development Goals Office (AMDGO) who are designated lead agency for early recovery. During my meeting with Ms. Emily Kare we discussed some of the issues that would come up in early recovery, and the types of support that UNDP could offer. I understood that AMDGO’s intention was organise a damage and needs assessment early in the New Year, as well as a inventory of skills-sets of the displaced in the evacuation centres. These are both initiatives I strongly support. To this end Ms Kare has written a letter to the U.N Humanitarian Coordinator, Dr. Jacqui Badcock, requested technical and financial support from UNDP for this process. I believe that Ms. Kare had already discussed this letter with yourself as Head of Albay PDCC. The letter was signed by the Governor of Albay and I hand carried it back to Manila.

Anyway, I think it would be good to get a clearer idea of PDCC’s intentions which could then inform joint planning. I reiterate that we would be very happy to support a early recovery needs assessment for the Mayon situation. I also believe there may some possibilities on the disaster risk reduction side which could be useful to discuss. I am copying my colleague, Mr. Richard Snellen who is co-ordinator  of the early recovery cluster, as well as to Mr Philiph Gautier (Head of OCHA) on this correspondence. I look forward to your reply and future collaboration.

With best wishes

John English

Early Recovery Advisor

United Nations Coordination Office