NAGA CITY, PHILIPPINES — Naga City has been selected as one of 50 global finalists in the 2025 Bloomberg Mayors Challenge, a prestigious competition recognizing bold urban innovations. Chosen from over 600 cities across 33 countries, Naga stands out for its community-powered approach to climate resilience, particularly in addressing the city’s growing vulnerability to extreme flooding.
Located in the typhoon-prone Bicol Region, Naga has long contended with “Kristine-type” flooding events — sudden, high-volume rainfall that overwhelms drainage systems and endangers lives and livelihoods. In response, the city’s proposal outlines a bold early warning system that fuses technology, civic participation, and cultural values.
The Proposal: A People-Powered Early Alert System
Naga’s initiative centers on three transformative pillars:
- Youth-Led Forecasting and Monitoring: The city will train young “citizen scientists” to collect and interpret local weather and hydrological data. These youth will serve as hyperlocal observers, feeding real-time information into a community-based alert system.
- Whole-of-Society Disaster Response: The system will integrate schools, barangays, civic groups, and local agencies into a coordinated response network. This ensures that alerts translate into swift, organized action — from evacuation to relief distribution.
- Reviving Bayanihan for Climate Resilience: At its heart, the proposal seeks to rekindle bayanihan — the Filipino tradition of communal solidarity — as a guiding principle for disaster preparedness and recovery. The city envisions a culture where neighbors help neighbors, and resilience is built from the ground up.
Naga joins fellow Philippine cities Pasig and Cauayan (Isabela) in the finalist circle, alongside global peers like Barcelona, Bogotá, and Seattle. Each finalist receives $50,000 to prototype their idea and will participate in the Bloomberg Ideas Camp this July. In early 2026, 25 cities will be awarded $1 million to scale their projects citywide.
Liveable Cities Philippines, the local partner of Bloomberg Philanthropies, said it will continue working with Naga and the other finalists in the Philippines as they prepare for the next round of the challenge and further develop their proposals.
As climate risks intensify, Naga’s proposal offers a compelling model for localized, inclusive, and culturally rooted disaster resilience — one that could inspire cities worldwide.
