UP ISSI’s Joanna among PH delegates at APEC workshop on biz continuity planning

Philippine delegates - Rosslyn Tragico, Gladina Aquino (1st and 2nd from left), Angelita Resurreccion (center), Joanna Rose Laddaran (2nd from right) – along with workshop facilitators (L-R: Rinske Geerlings from Business As Usual, N. Sivalingam, Tirso Mena from Business As Usual, and DFAT Australia’s Rose Hunter and Leslie Williams).
Philippine delegates – Rosslyn Tragico, Gladina Aquino (1st and 2nd from left), Angelita Resurreccion (center), Joanna Rose Laddaran (2nd from right) – along with workshop facilitators (L-R: Rinske Geerlings from Business As Usual, N. Sivalingam, Tirso Mena from Business As Usual, and DFAT Australia’s Rose Hunter and Leslie Williams).

UP ISSI’s Joanna Rose T. Laddaran of the Research Division was among four Philippine delegates who recently participated in the APEC capacity building training workshop on Strengthening Governments’ Role in Promoting Business Continuity Planning (BCP) to Mitigate Against Disasters.  The said workshop was conducted by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) under the auspices of the APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 7 and 8 June 2016.

The key objectives of the training workshop were to: identify specific policy and technical challenges faced by participating government agencies in promoting BCPs among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating within their economy; help these agencies and their officials develop options for addressing these challenges, including the preparation of viable BCP ‘commitments to action’ for implementation; and train participants in understanding the formulation of BCPs. As such, the program would be instrumental in strengthening UP ISSI’s own BCP training programs and related research initiatives.

The participants of the two-day event came from seven participating APEC economies: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Besides Laddaran, the Philippines was also represented by Angelita Resurreccion, former UP ISSI staff and current chair of the Network of Enterprise Counselors and Development Facilitators; Gladina Aquino, chief trade and industry development specialist of the Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); and Rosslyn Tragico, planning officer of the Philippine Trade Training Center.

Laddaran shared UP ISSI’s initiative of capacitating micro and SMEs in the Philippines to develop their own BCPs.  Since 2014, the Institute has been partnering with various government agencies such as DTI (through its Small Business Counselors’ Course and SME Roving Academy), and the Department of Agriculture (through its Coop Strengthening Program). This initiative was brought about by her participation at the APEC Train-the-Trainer Workshop on Promoting SME Business Continuity Plans held in Chinese Taipei on 6 – 9 August 2013 along with fellow ISSI staff Reynold Ferdinand G. Manegdeg of the Business Enterprises Development Division and former ISSI staff Atty. Ma. Theresa M. Bautista.

In 2015, UP ISSI has been partnering with the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) to train MSMEs in economic lifeline companies.  For 2016, UP ISSI will continue partnering with PDRF and extending it to the Humanitarian Leadership Academy to capacitate more MSMEs in the country on BCP preparation.

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