MPD anti-riot cops train in flood rescue

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Police District (MPD) had its civil disturbance management (CDM) personnel, who are the frontline of defense during rallies, train in search and rescue operations when there are floods, a police official said yesterday.

The training of search and rescue policemen is part of the agenda of National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Roberto Rosales to save lives and properties during typhoons and other calamities, said Superintendent Nelson Yabut, chief of the MPD’s District Public Safety Management Battalion.

Yabut said 139 CDM personnel, who were grouped into three battalions, were trained for their duties and responsibilities in times of calamities. “We have to be prepared now that the weather bureau is expecting 11 typhoons to hit the country this year,” he said.

According to Yabut, he does not want a repeat of what had happened when typhoon “Ondoy” hit the metropolis last year and caught the policemen off guard. 

Though the NCRPO has several search and rescue boats to rush to flooded areas in the metropolis during typhoons, Yabut said congressman-elect Atong Asilo of Manila’s first district had pledged to donate eight rubber boats to the MPD. “Manila is reportedly sinking below sea level and has many flood-prone areas that have become difficult for motor vehicles to reach during heavy rains,” Yabut said.

Residents of Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, a reclaimed strip of land in Manila Bay, are usually evacuated during typhoons.  

Yabut is also asking that the search and rescue policemen be equipped with emergency kits, swimming vests and tree-cutting equipment.