Local Road Management Manual 567 Guidelines on the Use of Road and Bridge Infrastructure Vulnerability Audit (RBIVA) Form I. The Context 1. Development gains are eroded continually by disasters. Economic losses, manifested in terms of lower productivity, lost opportunity, damage to property and even human deaths, result from the inability of affected communities to cope with natural and human-induced disasters. 2. In the last few years, the Philippines passed key legislations on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (RA 10121) and Climate Change (RA 9729) that outline policy directions to a) uphold the rights to life and property by addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities to disasters, strengthening the country’s institutional capacity for disaster risk reduction and management and building the resilience of local communities to disasters including climate change impacts; and b) fully protect and advance the right of the people to a healthful ecology. 3. As managers of development in their localities, local government units have to be capable and ready to manage the consequences of disasters and the phenomenon associated with climate change; thus reducing disaster risk on human settlements, livelihood and infrastructure, and zero or less casualties and minimum damages to properties (DILG1 ). 4. It is DILG’s objective to assist LGUs to build their resiliency to cope with and respond to natural disasters and adapt to climate change and mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change in pre-disaster planning and infrastructure audit. The latter in particular will ensure resiliency of critical infrastructure such as roads and bridges. 5. In light of this and as part of the project “Enhancing LGU Capacity on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Management Framework” DILG has produced and rolled out the Infrastructure Audit Form/Checklist for Buildings. 2 1 DILG is the Vice-Chair for Disaster Preparedness under the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. The agency is mandated to build the capacities of LGUs to effectively address and mitigate the impacts of disasters and calamities. 2 In a review of available literature, a similar undertaking could be the road safety audit which is a formalised assessment of road facilities to identify possible and probable