Areas for improvement identified

CEBU, Philippines - Establishments at the Cebu Business Park participated in an earthquake drill yesterday morning, the first time that the drill was executed simultaneously in all establishments there.

Clement del Rosario, Cebu Business Park administrator, said the drill was made to make occupants in the buildings in the park more aware of safety procedures in the event of an earthquake. He said the drill was successful.

“Though it is our first time to have this park-wide drill, so far, it is very successful. The support from the building occupants up to the local governments, they are all so supportive of our project,” Del Rosario said.

The government agencies that “responded” to the exercise were the Central Command of the Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) and the Bureau of Fire. Volunteer organizations like the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (ERUF) and the Philippine National Red Cross also participated.

Officials of Barangays Hipodromo, Luz, Mabolo, Careta and Camputhaw also observed the drill.

Prior to the drill, some of the security personnel at the Cebu Business Park underwent a special training on emergency response. The skills they learned were tested in yesterday’s drill.

Joel Tuguhan, one of the security personnel at the business park, also said the drill was generally successful some lapses were observed in the execution of specific exercises.

“Kulang gamay, especially sa hangin kay kinahanglan mo practice jud ka kay supposing daghang mga casualties. Kelangan daghan jud tag hangin para maka response sa emergencies. Kulang ug exercise (We need to have endurance to effectively respond to an earthquake, particularly if there are many casualties),” he said.

Julito Arescu, councilman of Barangay Hipodromo who observed the drill, said employees need to undergo more training and orientation.

“Dugay kaayo nanggawas ang mga empleyado. Pagkahuman, wala pa jud sila ni-execute ug ‘duck, cover, and hold’ sa ilang kaugalingon (It took some time before the employees came out of the buildings. They also forgot to execute the ‘duck, cover and hold’ method),” Arescu said.

PBA Star Bonel Balingit, a member of the Federation of Volunteers through Radio Communications Incorporated (FVRC) Central Visayas, shared Arescu’s observations. He also said there is a need to further train participants in the proper handling of victims.

“Although duna silay mga saktong gipangbuhat, kinahanglan pa jud nato nga ma-improve kay naa pay mga kulang nga dapat di jud iwala bahin aning mga calamities. Dapat ang pag react ug proper procedure jud sa pag dala sa mga pasyente ug victims kinahanglan duna jud sakto na dereksyon. Di pwedi na dunay makulang, kay ang one minute lang nga ma delayed sa pag travel sa pasyente daku kayo na nga importante sa kinabuhi sa tao (They did several things correctly, but we need to train further on how to properly react to an incident and on how to handle victims properly.”

Balingit also said that there should only be one person commanding traffic from a building to the first aid station.

Maritoni Corominas of FVRC was candid enough to say that if the ‘victims’ were real, they would have already died with the manner by which the participants responded to the drill. She also observed that crowds were not controlled properly.

“If the victims were real, mangamatay sila…ang giuna gialsa sa ambulansya ang di priority. Kulang ang command sa preparation, (If the victims were real, they would have already died. The ambulance carried people that were not supposed to be prioritized. There was not enough preparation),” she said.

One example she cited was the absence of neck support on supposed victims that were being brought out of a building that is 60 feet tall.

In a scale of 10, she said she would rate the response a five.

“Arang-arang sila. Kapasar sila.” Corominas said.

In the previous years, the drill was conducted separately in each building. Yesterday, 33 establishments and 7,567 people participated in the activity.  (FREEMAN)