The killer earthquakes in Haiti and Chile are reminders to the business community that preparedness to save lives and protect critical infrastructures and data against natural and man-made disasters, swift response and quick recovery are necessary tools to assure business continuity.

Companies implementing business continuity or risk reduction strategies better than their rivals strengthen their competitiveness in both the local and global markets. The corporate reputation for business continuity protects and promotes more revenues. Business continuity tools also safeguard business records and assets, an obligation mandated by stockholders and regulatory authorities.

A forum, Protect 2010 (Doing Business Amidst New Threats), will be held this April 15-16, at the New World Hotel, by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) to promote stronger partnership between the business community and local and national government. During the forum, experts and law enforcers will share insights for business continuity with businesses.

The forum Protect 2010 is the fifth in the annual series organized by the Anti-Terrorism Council, an inter-agency body under the Office of the President, and Leverage International (Consultants) Inc. May contact the Secretariat at E-mail leverage@leverageinternational.com to join the forum.

Among the confirmed speakers for the forum are Justice Undersecretary Ricardo R. Blancaflor, Spokesperson ATC; Acting Secretary Celia C. Yangco, Department of Social Welfare and Development; Assistant Secretary Victoria S. Bataclan, Office of ASEAN Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs; Arnel Capili, International Association of Emergency Managers National Representative, Asian Development Bank Emergency Services Officer; Steve Cutler, SeniorAdviser, The Infrastructure Exchange (INEX), and a Former FBI Agent; Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Head of International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, Singapore, and author, Inside Al Qaeda; Drexx Laggui, Laggui & Associates, (Cyber Security Consultant); Raul S. Nagrampa, Head of Security, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines; Vasudevan Nair, ASEAN Regional Solutions Consultant, Hitachi Data Systems Hong Kong; Dr. Juan Pablo Nañagas,Former Undersecretary of Health for Health Facilities, Standards and Regulations, and Former Director, Philippine General Hospital, Enrico E. Rampinelli, Chairman, Zetos Swiss Forensic Supply; Pete Troilo, Country Manager, Pacific Strategies Assessments and American Chamber of Commerce Disaster Preparedness Committee and other more authoritative speakers.

Business continuity plans are very important for companies as they own most of the country’s critical infrastructures. In 2009 when typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng blasted into Luzon, the Department of Finance and the World Bank estimated that private sector bore more than 90 per cent of the $4.4 billion economic damage and losses.

The conference will present the Philippine Disaster Management System. A specialized exhibit is being organized to complement the international discussions on safety and security. Of greatest interest are communications and IT solutions, first response equipment including vehicles, personal protective equipment, indoor security equipment, biometric equipment and RFID, equipment for maritime security, airport security, police equipment, training and education resources, business continuity and disaster management services and other safety products and technologies especially for banks, BPOs and critical infrastructures.