03 December 2024, Seoul. On 25 November 2024, Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul General Romulo Victor M. Israel, Jr. of the Philippine Embassy in Seoul received the courtesy call of a delegation from the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Philippine Public Safety College (DILG-PPSC) Class “Maraghawi” who were conducting their International Field Exposure and Study (IFES) in the Republic of Korea from 23 to 29 November 2024.

During their courtesy visit, the Embassy welcomed the delegation and presented an overview of Philippines-ROK bilateral relations highlighting the milestone events in the year-long commemoration of the 75^th Anniversary of diplomatic relations; the elevation of bilateral relations into a Strategic Partnership; and the signing of the Philippines-ROK Free Trade Agreement. DCM Israel likewise cited some best practices of ROK in disaster preparedness and pandemic response such as the (1) Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Transport Operation and Information Service (TOPIS) for road monitoring; (2) Smart City Integrated Platform a command center of smart cities providing real-time monitoring of crimes, accidents and traffic; (3) MOIS Integrated Disaster and Safety Information System; (4) Flood outbreak forecast and warning system; and (5) Emergency Ready App, a mobile application that provides early warning in case of impending disaster.

He also shared the Embassy’s role in disaster response for Filipinos in Korea that includes making representations with the ROK government to discuss Disaster Risk Cooperation; partnership with the Boramae Safety Experience Center, a renowned facility for emergency training; conduct of Filipino Leaders Camp which included a dedicated session on emergency preparedness wherein participants received valuable and practical information on contingency planning; and participation in the ROK Nationwide Civil Defense Drill conducted by the Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS), among others.

DILG PPSC MCDRM Head of Delegation Director and Dean of the National Police College Romeo S. Magsalos, MPSA, Ph.D, DPSG, expressed appreciation to the Embassy for welcoming the delegation and providing the briefing on its role in disaster response. He also shared that he continues to encourage DILG PPSC scholars to visit other countries to learn best practices that they can bring home to the Philippines.

Dedicated to enhancing disaster risk resilience and management in various national government agencies and local government units, the delegation also met with officials of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Incheon City MCR2030 Resilient Hub and Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) and UNDRR Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute to learn about their programs and initiatives. They also visited the Boramae Safety Training Center on 27 November 2024, where they had hands-on simulated exercises on different kinds of disasters like fire, earthquake and typhoons. END