During the Rehabilitation and Recovery Planning Workshop in Tagaytay, Cavite on May 31 – June 1, 2017, it was reported that not only Batangas City, Mabini, and Tingloy but also four other municipalities such as Agoncillo, Bauan, Taal, and San Luis were affected by the earthquake swarm that occurred in April 2017. Thus, the Department of Trade and Industry Region 4-A conducted a Field Validation and Assessment of the Extent of Damages and Losses in the industry, trade, and service sectors in the said towns on June 19 – 23, 2017.

Scenes from the DTI 4A Field Validation in selected Batangas towns last June 19-23, 2017.

Actual field validation and assessment were conducted together with the representatives of the local government units (LGUs). Around 250 respondents/business establishments were interviewed.

Field validation and post-assessment were not only intended to estimate the damages and losses but also to assess human recovery needs, establish recovery and reconstruction framework, determine financial requirements of programs and projects, determine the possible fund sources, and recommend policies that will further help to achieve the overall post-disaster recovery, reconstruction, and risk management.

The assessed damages and losses, recovery, and rehabilitation plan and project profiles on the industry, trade, and service (ITS) sectors for the four other affected areas will be submitted to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and presented to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Region 4-A (RDRRMC 4-A) for review and validation purposes before it will be presented to the NDRRMC for further validation and approval.