NAMRIA, through its Geomatics Training Center (GTC), conducted the sixth Basic Geographic Information System (GIS) training for the Climate Resilient Cities (CRC) Project. The training was held at the Domsowir Hotel in Borongan City on 24-28 July 2023. It was attended by a total of 28 middle-level and technical personnel from different departments of the City Government of Borongan in Eastern Samar.

 

Borongan was the sixth city to participate in the Basic GIS training for the CRC Project, following Iloilo City, Cotabato City, Legazpi City, Zamboanga City, and Batangas City. The training, in partnership with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), was conducted through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) inked between NAMRIA, represented by Usec. Peter N. Tiangco, PhD, and PDRF President Rene S. Meily. PDRF is one of the implementing partners for the CRC Project, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The other implementing partners are Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Conservation International (CI), and Rocky Mountain Institute. The CRC Project's overall objective is to improve resilience by strengthening the adaptive capacity of the cities to adapt, mitigate, and manage the impacts of climate change and disasters.

 

The Basic GIS training focused on discussing basic map concepts, GIS functions in data management, geoprocessing tools, georeferencing, and hazard spatial analysis. The NAMRIA training team was composed of Ms. Nilca Jane F. Fabellon who served as the resource person, and Mr. Manuel V. Lorenzana, Jr., Mr. Erwin D. Famatiga, and this writer as training facilitators. The PDRF training coordinators and secretariat were Ms. Ciara Gabriela Villanueva, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer; Mr. Narryl Cabuena, Project Officer; Mr. Rudyard Jose Nano IV, Research and Innovation Officer; and Mr. Mark Lester Rodrigo, Senior GIS Officer. Also in attendance from the City Government of Borongan were Maria Anne Odejerte-Lopez, Assistant City Planning and Development Coordinator and Jojito Acla, Chief of Staff of the City Planning and Development Office.