With a goal of strengthening partnerships for disaster resilience, officials of the University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) met with Municipality of Mabini Mayor Emerson L. Luego and Office of Civil Defense Region XI (OCD XI) Director Ednar G. Dayanghirang on July 22, 2025 at the Mabini Municipal Hall. The dialogue sought to explore ways to integrate academic expertise, local governance, and national disaster management efforts in developing practical, data-driven, and community-centered solutions for hazard preparedness and climate adaptation.
The meeting also identified priority areas for collaboration, from enhancing local capacity for disaster response to utilizing digital tools for more efficient coordination during emergencies.
The USeP delegation was led by University President Dr. Bonifacio G. Gabales Jr., accompanied by the USeP Tagum-Mabini Campus team headed by Chancellor Dr. Shirley S. Villanueva and Vice Chancellor Dr. Cesar A. Limbaga, Jr, and faculty members from the College of Information and Computing (CIC), namely Assoc. Prof. Michael V. Machica, Ms. Vera Kim S. Tequin, and Mr. Philip R. Navarez, who showcased one of the University’s innovative technological solutions for local governance.
During the meeting, the CIC Team presented the Records of the Barangay Inhabitants Management System (RoBIMS), a digital platform designed to efficiently manage, store, and update barangay-level population data. RoBIMS supports disaster preparedness efforts such as planning evacuation procedures, allocating relief goods, and implementing targeted recovery and rehabilitation programs by providing quick access to accurate demographic information.
The system also offers advanced features, including automation of processes, updated forms, and the capability to generate insights from data-driven reports to support informed decision-making. It can also facilitate budget requests for projects and track the number of affected families during disasters. To ensure data integrity and protection, RoBIMS is equipped with robust security measures such as authentication, authorization, email verification, encryption, hashing, and password reset functions, along with protection against attacks through Structured Query Language (SQL) injection prevention and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) tokens.
In his message, Pres. Gabales underscored USeP’s commitment to becoming a proactive partner in disaster risk reduction and management. “We recognize that disaster resilience requires strong partnerships, innovative solutions, and accurate data. Through initiatives like RoBIMS, we aim to ensure that communities are better equipped to respond to and recover from disasters,” he said. He further stressed, “We are open to collaborate, and the University is ready to extend its expertise, research capabilities, and resources to help Mabini and other communities in the region.”
The meeting concluded on a positive note, with USeP, the Mabini local government, and OCD-XI committing to explore and pursue joint initiatives that strengthen the municipality’s disaster risk reduction and management programs, as well as other community resilience efforts.
