APEC to tackle disaster risk financing in Bacolod

The stage is set for the Bacolod leg of the year-round Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, in which senior finance officials from the 21-member state are set to discuss how to sustain resilient economies hit by natural disasters.

 

On a theme of "Disaster Risk Finance – APEC Roadmap for Resilient Economies" the two-day forum to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City from April 29 and 30, is set to tackle fiscal measures that would enable member countries to be more resilient from natural disasters. Among such measures would cover micro insurance financing.

 

"Our focus on disaster risk finance springs deep from our personal experience. We want the region to have solid financial structures to buttress against disasters. Growth is only meaningful for our people if it remains robust after each shock,” Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

Apart from the delegates from the APEC members, also set to participate in the forum are experts from around the globe in the fields of insurance, credit and finance, and disaster risk mitigation to discuss potential financing initiatives on a regional scale to address disaster risk.

 

"It is true that environmental issues are in fact, issues of social justice. The region protects its most vulnerable citizens best if we give them the means to stand right back up in the wake of devastation. Disaster's shadow must never loom large over our economies again,” Purisima said in addressing the APEC member countries.

 

Many Asian countries are still reeling from the massive economic losses brought by natural calamities that hit the region in recent years that include the December 2004 killer tsunami that hit Indonesia and Thailand and the 8.9-magnitude earthquake followed by tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011.

 

The Philippines, which serves as the host of the 2015 APEC meetings, also has its own stories to tell about bouncing back from disasters.

'Wiping out gains'

 

In October 2013 provinces in Central Visayas, especially Bohol, were jolted by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that claimed over 200 lives and left P2.2 billion worth of damages, according to government data.

 

Three months after the Bohol quake, Eastern and Central Visayas was also hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda – dubbed as the strongest typhoon to make landfall in recent history. More than 6,000 people died from the incident and the estimated cost of damage was more than P30 billion.

 

“Natural disasters are capable of easily wiping out gains from poverty-reduction and development efforts of any economy. As such, concrete plans to boost resiliency are indispensable,” said Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, who chairs the overall coordinating and planning committee of finance-related meetings of APEC 2015.

 

Beltran said Philippine finance experts are expected to share the country's own experience in promoting microfinance insurance which is the country's "bid to prevent natural disasters from dragging households into poverty."

 

According to the Department of Finance (DOF), about a fourth of the Philippine population is already insured.

 

"Due to government efforts enabling financial institutions to offer micro insurance products and given programs aimed at raising financial literacy, about 25 million Filipinos – equivalent to about a fourth of the population – are already insured," the DOF said.

 

Beltran pointed out that compared with regular insurance products, micro insurance is much cheaper and are targeted toward the low-income market.

 

Beltran said measures on how to widen the penetration of micro-insurance on a regional scale will most likely be tackled during the two-day meeting.

 

In the Philippines, some micro insurance policies cost less than P100 each and cover from P5,000 to P20,000 in claims, the DOF said.

 

Some of the measures to be proposed during the meeting may be included in the Cebu Action Plan (CAP), a development roadmap for APEC member-economies that is drafted and pushed by the Philippines.

 

CAP has four pillars, namely financial integration, fiscal transparency and policy reform, financial resiliency, and infrastructure development and financing.

 

Apart from the Philippines, APEC groups the United States, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Russia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. – Elizabeth Marcelo/VS, GMA News