(Clockwise, from top left) FAO Philippines, PRC Albay Chapter and DSWD RFO 5 staff strategizing; FAO staff presenting at the PAGASA Flood Forecasting Center in Camarines Sur; the field mission team; FAO-PRC staff discussing at the sidelines.

FAO Philippines and partners' the German Red Cross and the Philippine Red Cross conducted a joint field mission in Legaspi, Albay and Camarines Sur on 5-7 April 2021 in preparation for a joint simulation exercise on forecast-based financing (FbF), anticipatory action and shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) slated for the first week of May 2021.

Also involved in the field mission were the Office of the Mayor of Libmanan, Camarines Sur, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Field Office 5, and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Bicol River Basin Flood Forecasting and Warning Center in Camarines Sur.

The preparatory field mission and the following simulation exercise in May are part of a regional project on scaling-up FbF/Early Warning Early Action (FbF/EWEA) and SRSP with innovative use of climate risk information for disaster resilience in the ASEAN, an initiative funded by the EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid. It will be implemented by the German Red Cross through the Philippine Red Cross in collaboration with FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The simulation in May aims to practice, review, and improve the implementation of pre-identified anticipatory actions based on a given extreme event scenario. This activity will look more specifically into the joint implementation of early actions from the day the forecast of an extreme event reaches a "trigger level" and until before the extreme event actually hits. This allows the identification and testing of adequate coordination procedures for the simultaneous and seamless interventions of concerned response agencies. The specific early actions to be tested are early harvesting of fish and transfer of cash in anticipation of a forecasted flooding event.

The field mission in Bicol gained much appreciation and support from the regional, provincial and municipal stakeholders. Aside from expressing their willingness to assist participating agencies in gathering data, the stakeholders also provided inputs that will help improve the design and implementation of the upcoming simulation exercise.

Additionally, since the Bicol Region is almost always hit by destructive typhoons and the resulting floods, the concept of anticipatory action and FbF was very much welcomed by the stakeholders to help them prepare and cope better with disasters.