Dili, July 1, 2025 (Média Democracia) – In celebration of the third anniversary of the Civil Protection Authority (APC), the Secretary of State for Civil Protection declared that the institution’s presence in Timor-Leste serves to protect citizens who are threatened by natural disasters. The celebration event took place at the APC building in Caicoli, Dili, on Monday, June 30, 2025.
In an interview, the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Domingos Mariano Reis, expressed his gratitude to all guests and partners for attending the third anniversary of APC’s existence, highlighting that APC was established to protect all citizens at risk from disasters, and that its protection force is always ready to respond to disaster victims.
“Today we are celebrating APC’s third anniversary. APC was established to serve and protect all citizens in Timor-Leste who face threats from disasters. Our protection unit is ready 24 hours a day to respond to disaster victims. The Constitutional Government supports us to implement and execute its political directives. Our priority programs are, firstly, to ensure the safety of all citizens throughout the country, and secondly, to develop and strengthen institutional functioning. This program aims to ensure state budget savings, particularly through prevention programs, which have become APC’s priority along with disaster risk education programs based on disaster risk mapping in Timor-Leste,” said Secretary Domingos Mariano Reis.
He added that APC’s priority programs aim to address natural disasters affecting communities and also focus on building the capacity of managers in human resources to manage APC facilities.
“Before addressing natural disasters that affect citizens, we must also consider the resources, assess the needs, understand the causes of disasters, recognize warning signs, and learn how to prevent and recover, especially ensuring proper care for victims. Therefore, managers must have excellent capacity, human resources, financial resources, and facilities to be able to respond to emergencies,” the Secretary emphasized.
The development of human resource capacity and modernization of APC’s equipment is ongoing and progressing step by step. The government, through APC and the Ministry of Interior, prioritizes institutional development and human resource capacity programs through partnerships with diplomatic corps, regional, and international cooperation.
Meanwhile, APC has received support from international partners such as Indonesia, Japan, Australia, the European Union, and Thailand. APC signed a cooperation agreement with Japan to receive financial support of three million US dollars, including vehicles. The European Union provided a total of 620 thousand US dollars to support human resource capacity and disaster prevention education, targeting three municipalities such as, Viqueque, Covalima, and Manufahi due to high disaster risk mapping in those areas.
Report: Domingas
Photo: Domingas