The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) conferred the Gawad Kalasag to a total of 21 Local Government Units and 52 other organizations and individuals who showed exemplary dedication and support to the country’s bid for national resilience, in the awarding ceremony held on December 6, 2019 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

Now on its 21^st year, the Gawad Kalasag is the NDRRMC’s annual Search for Excellence in DRRM and Humanitarian Assistance, which recognizes the outstanding contributions of Local Government DRRM Councils, as well as the various managers and practitioners from government agencies and institutions, civil society organizations, private sectors, and individuals who advocate and implement rights-based, gender-responsive and inclusive DRRM and climate change adaptation programs. As one of the Council’s interagency convergence program, Gawad Kalasag, which promotes volunteerism and heroism, is founded upon the National DRRM Council’s framework that aims to make communities safer, climate change adaptive and disaster resilient.

Cited for its dynamic and inclusive planning; determination in enhancing the resilience of vulnerable sectors; and strengthening its stakeholders’ capacity to build disaster-resilient communities, the Province of Quirino topped this year’s awardees for the Best Provincial DRRM Council, while Quezon City was hailed the Best Highly Urbanized City. Also in the list of the Best Local DRRM Councils are the city of San Fernando, Pampanga for the Independent/Component City DRRMC, the municipalities of La Trinidad, Benguet and Saguday, Quirino for the 1^st to 3^rd Class and 4^th to 6^th Class Municipal DRRMCs, respectively, and the Barangay DRRM Committees of Naggasican for urban category and Buenavista for rural category, both from Santiago City, Isabela.

Local and national government hospitals, early learning and higher learning institutions, and civil society and volunteer organizations were also recognized and conferred with the award.

Various individuals and groups were also cited for heroism and notable acts of humanity by helping fellow Filipinos not only during disasters but also in the prevention and mitigation and preparedness phases of DRRM. Most notable of this is the 45 year-old construction worker Mr. Regalado Francisco of Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro, who rushed to save a child from impending death when the latter fell into strong floodwater currents during the heavy and continuous raining brought about by Tropical Storm Usman in December 2018.  Oblivious of his own safety and injuring his right leg, Mr Regalado was able to bring the child out of the water and into safety, thereby making him deserving of Gawad Kalasag for Heroic Acts – Individual Category.

The Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits (EcoWEB) was also hailed the best Civil Society Organization owing to its valuable efforts in strengthening the Survivor & Community-Led Response as an innovative approach in responding to crises, as well as adopting a participatory and consultative approach in capacitating communities to become disaster-resilient while promoting social unity.

Other organizations that were given special recognition were the Tzu Chi Foundation and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), among others.

Winners of this prestigious award go through a tedious selection process, which include desk evaluation of entries, validation through field visits, and eventually, the deliberation of winners by the National Selection Committee (NSC) that is composed of representatives from the National DRRM Council member agencies. For this year, they evaluated and validated 172 entries, with a total of 73 winners from 26 different categories.

Present during the event and presenting the awards were NDRRMC Chairperson and National Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana, NDRRMC Executive Director and Office of Civil Defense Administrator USEC Ricardo B. Jalad, and representatives of other member agencies such as but not limited to USEC Bernardo C. Florece Jr. of the Department of Interior and Local Government and USEC Adoracion M. Navarro of the National Economic Development Authority.

The following is the complete list of winners for this year’s Gawad Kalasag:

GAWAD KALASAG FOR HEROIC ACT   

GAWAD KALASAG FOR SPECIAL RECOGNITION

LOCAL DRRMC CATEGORIES

BEST CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATION CATEGORY

BEST PEOPLES ORGANIZATION

BEST VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION CATEGORY

PRIVATE BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS 

GAWAD KALASAG FOR HOSPITALS

GAWAD KALASAG FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (CDC)

GAWAD KALASAG FOR SCHOOLS

GAWAD KALASAG FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

GAWAD KALASAG FOR SPECIAL RECOGNITION – GOVERNMENT EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM