Roundtable on Findings from the Philippines | Event Readback

Aapti Institute, in collaboration with the Scalabrini Migration Center, hosted a roundtable on Whole-of-Society Coordination on Disaster Data: Findings from the Philippines, on August 17th, 2026, in Pasig City, Metro Manila.

The roundtable was the culmination of a year-long study of the Philippines case study as part of the Data on the Move, a 3-year engagement with the Robert Bosch Foundation on exploring the intersection of migration and technology with a specific focus on the Global South.

The case study, foregrounded in the disaster-prone nature of the Philippines, examined how data collected by a variety of actors flows within the larger disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) ecosystem, and the extent to which community needs are reflected in access to welfare. It focused on the following aspects of the digital and data economy around disaster relief.

• How does the country’s digital infrastructure support the efficient disbursal of aid as well as the creation of channels to support those in need of aid to those impacted by disasters? To what extent does the country’s whole-of-government approach contribute to this?

• What is the role of the digital public infrastructure (DPI) tools (the PhilSys ID, the digital payments infrastructure, open data portals) in fast tracking relief and rehabilitation for communities?

• To what extent do data systems capture and document the lived experiences and needs of evacuees and relocated families?

• What can we learn from the role of decentralised and bottom-up forms of support in safeguarding communities from suffering a loss of livelihood during disasters?

• What are the learnings from the Philippine disaster management framework that can be replicated across disaster-affected contexts?

In the room

The conversation brought together stakeholders ranging from government departments like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), and the Climate Change Commission (CCC), representing various touchpoints for governments to intervene in DRRM efforts. Participants also came from organisations like the IOM, Better Than Cash Alliance, Humanitarian OpenStreetMaps Team (HOT), GIZ, and universities including the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of Asia and the Pacific. Participants from community-led organisations like the Bike Scouts Project and the Las Pinas Persons with Disabilities Federation (LPPWDFI) were also in attendance.

Findings from the report and through discussion

Aapti summarised its findings through a presentation that took participants through the report, focusing on three pillars:

• The technical layer builds awareness around how DPI can be accessed as a tool to advance access to welfare services for people on the move, and the need for awareness programmes to complement existing initiatives. In the Philippines, this comes out through the digital ID and payments landscape, closely linked to quicker and decentralised service delivery.

• The governance layer advocates for a unified, interoperable data network where different government databases on DRRM can speak to each other to simplify access to essential services during crises. The question of interoperability becomes crucial here; are the different government departments recording and storing data on disasters sharing this with other coordinating bodies? To what extent do these datasets record data only for the purpose of relief?

• The ecosystem participation layer highlights community insights in data as a critical pillar for bridging last-mile connectivity and decentralised mechanisms for aid. In island countries like the Philippines, encoding community insights and data in tech-enabled initiatives comes from bottom-up trust-building and consultations.

Ms. Noralene Uy, Assistant Secretary at the DENR, Isvary Sivalingam, Regional Lead for A-PAC at the Better Than Cash Alliance, and Ms. Maria Fe Maraviillas from the LPPWDFI shared their thoughts on the report’s findings, along with their experiences working in disaster response in various capacities.

Film launch

The discussion proceeded to the launch of our film, ‘Bayanihan in Times of Disasters’, produced and directed by our partner, Myles Delfin, Founder of the Bike Scouts Project. The film captured the lives of Filipinos when faced with disasters, and how response and rehabilitation is often a community-led effort, especially in remote areas of the Philippines. The film was followed by Myles speaking about Bike Scouts, and the role of bottom-up data and technology in bridging the digital divide in remote islands in the archipelago.

Data flows mapping

The participants were then introduced to the data flows map, a culmination of Data on the Move’s understanding of the Philippine disaster management ecosystem, with a focus on data and information flows to depict clusters of power, influence, vulnerability, and insight.

Some key takeaways that emerged:

• Anticipatory action is newly encoded into DRRM laws and unanimously approved: The recent Declaration of the State of Imminent Disaster Act of 2025 was well-received and seen as a step forward in pre-emptive social protections, and participants saw its correlation with financial inclusion as an emerging link in welfare delivery. The legislation allows city governments to declare a state of imminent disaster based on weather data and forecasts to allow for governments and citizen communities to prepare for the incoming calamity.

• Stakeholders have diverse views on citizen participation in disaster data: Many see citizen-derived data as critical to building inclusive infrastructure, but conversations delved into challenges in preserving the integrity of the datasets without necessary capacity-building

• Data on internal displacement does not account for resettlement: Records on evacuation centres, both official and unofficial, reflect the number of people displaced, but do not speak on whether resettlement is a possible reality

• Political will determines the development of disaster-resilient infrastructure: Corruption and the lack of political will determines how swiftly and effectively climate adaptation is implemented and effected

• More attention on long-term impacts of climate-induced weather events: While DRRM in the Philippines is fast-moving towards anticipatory action, we need future investment in understanding climate migration and the impact of persistent disasters on livelihoods