In December 2025, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) conferred graduate degrees on more than 350 professionals, marking a pivotal step in addressing a severe leadership deficit in disaster preparedness across Asia and, critically, the Philippines.
From Theory to Reality: Lessons from Polillo Island
The abstract concept of disaster risk becomes a harsh reality in places like the Polillo Island group in Quezon Province. Located off Luzon's eastern coast, these islands are battered by multiple typhoons annually. The storms destroy crops, paralyze supply boats, and cripple local economies. Yet, as observed during field research, the communities' inherent competence is striking. Women sustain livelihoods through abaca, local leaders improvise early preparedness measures, and families repeatedly absorb shocks with resilience, often without the promise of timely external aid.
This on-the-ground experience reframes the significance of graduation lists. The AIM ceremony, covering seven programs including business, data science, innovation, and notably, Disaster Risk and Crisis Management, was more than an academic celebration. It was an infusion of urgently needed expertise. The cohort included professionals from India, China, Nepal, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Fiji, Taiwan, and the United States.
Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Action
The Philippines is not lacking in disaster policies. The core issue, experts argue, is a shortage of leaders who comprehend risk as a fundamental governance challenge rather than merely a response protocol. Disasters are often called "acts of God," but the transformation of hazards into full-blown catastrophes is frequently human-made: delayed decisions, political interference, fragmented institutions, and poor risk financing.
AIM's Executive Master in Disaster Risk and Crisis Management program is designed to combat this. Graduates are trained to break down silos, fostering collaboration between:
- Local governments and national agencies.
- Finance sectors and social protection programs.
- Early warning systems and early action initiatives.
They are equipped to ask critical questions: Who ultimately absorbs the loss? Who decides when and how to act? Why do survivors often rebuild in the same vulnerable ways? The Polillo research underscores that resilience becomes tangible economic policy when planning is anticipatory, communities are engaged from the start, women's livelihoods are protected, and local knowledge is valued.
A New Breed of Leader for a Risk-Prone Future
The December 2025 graduating class is distinct in its composition. Business leaders studied alongside crisis managers. Development practitioners graduated with data scientists. Innovators learned principles of resilience and disruption simultaneously. This interdisciplinary approach is a deliberate strategy, acknowledging that economic growth without resilience is merely risk accumulation.
The message for the Philippine government is clear: disaster risk expertise must be moved from the periphery to the core of decision-making. As voiced by the graduates themselves, their role should not be confined to emergency operations centers. They belong in planning offices, budget discussions, infrastructure boards, tourism councils, and economic clusters—anywhere long-term decisions are formulated.
Asia's future will be defined not just by its economic metrics, but by its capacity to absorb shocks. The Philippines, squarely in the path of climatic, seismic, and economic risks, cannot afford to keep learning this lesson through repeated hardship. The AIM Class of December 2025 steps forward with top-tier business credentials, but more importantly, with the literacy to foresee crises, the discipline to act preemptively, and the humility to learn from communities like those in Polillo before the next storm arrives.
