MANILA: (Bernama-PNA) Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have agreed to strengthen disaster preparedness by moving faster on prevention and anticipatory action, as they formally adopted the Manila Declaration at the closing of the two-day Asean Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience (AMCDR) 2026 in Pasay City on Wednesday (Sept 16).
In his closing speech, Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., chair of the Asean Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management, said the declaration would guide regional cooperation on disaster resilience through 2030 and beyond, Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.
"As the 2026 Asean Ministerial Conference on Disaster Resilience comes to a close, it is my honour, in my capacity as Chair of the Ministerial Meeting, to announce that we have formally adopted the Manila Declaration,” Teodoro said.
He said the declaration sets three areas for action, namely, accelerating the implementation of the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme 2026-2030; strengthening Asean accountability, monitoring and learning for disaster resilience; and shaping Asean's disaster resilience agenda towards 2030 and beyond.
Teodoro said the declaration would not be a fixed document, allowing Asean to adjust its approach as disasters and risks change.
"And we have agreed that this shall be a living document that shall provide for flexibility, agility, cooperation, to meet disasters more effectively as they come and as we learn,” he added.
The declaration, Teodoro said, is slated for notation by Asean leaders at the 49th Asean Summit in November, subject to the concurrence of all member states.
As the Asean region is one of the world's most disaster-prone areas, a major focus of the conference was the need to act before disasters strike, rather than relying mainly on response after a disaster has occurred. - Bernama-PNA
