TOP LEADERS FORUM 2014: Senator Loren Legarda (center) joins participants of the Plenary Roundtable of the Top Leaders Forum 2014 led by Hans Sy (6th from left), President of SM Prime Holdings, Inc., and Margareta Wahlstrom (8th from left), United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

Legarda, UN Champion for DRR and Climate Change Adaptation, said in her speech that disasters as an enemy are becoming more enigmatic and formidable. “It is no longer business as usual. The shift from reactive to proactive stance is now a must. In light of the call to ‘build back better’, government would greatly need support from the business sector. We need better investments in flood control, forest management, hazard identification, mapping and assessment, research and development, and risk financing.”