Negros Occidental will host the 2012 convention of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators of the Philippines Inc., that will start today and ends Friday in Bacolod City, a press release from the Capitol said.

The 23rd national convention, on the theme “Safer Communities Through Effective Comprehensive Development and Land Use Plans Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation”, aims to address the increasing global need resulting from climate change, and highlight the challenges of the integration of DRR and CCA in the plans and the strategies of LGUs to address these challenges.

About 600 provincial, city and town planners are expected to attend and opening ceremony will be at 9 a.m. tomorrow at L’Fisher Hotel with Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. as the keynote speaker, while Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia will give the welcome address, the press release said.

Regional directors of the NEDA, DILG, HLURB, HUDCC and OCD will also attend the opening ceremony, while Marañon, Vice Gov. Genaro Alvarez Jr. and members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the congressmen and city and town mayors of the province, are supporting the convention which is an opportunity for tourism and investment promotion, the press release also said.

In the afternoon, Dr. Andreas Lange, of the German Society for International Cooperation, will discuess the “Integration of DRR and CCA into the CDP and CLUP”; Francisca Dayrit, Geodata executive vice president, will discuss the “LGU Geospatial Data Infrastructure for Planning”; while Jose Mari Vargas of the Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office will share the city’s “Best Practices in DRRM”.

On May 16, the participants will have an educational tour of organic agriculture, and cultural and industrial sites in the province, like the Peñalosa organic farm in Victorias City, Fresh Start organic farm in Bacolod, OISCA silk factory and showroom in Bago City, the Balay Negrense and other museums in Silay City, the Ruins in Talisay City, the ANP Showroom, Provincial Capitol, Negros Forest, Negros Museum, Dizon-Ramos Museum, John Paul II Tower and other Bacolod landmarks.

The LLPDCPI is composed of the town, city and provincial planning and development coordinators of the 80 provinces, 138 cities and 1,496 towns in the country, or at least 1,714 coordinators, and their assistants, the press release added.*

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