Iloilo needs to up disaster preparedness

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – As far as disaster preparedness capability is concerned, Iloilo province has still a long way to go.

A lot of the local government units (LGUs) here have still to enhance their disaster preparedness and response capabilities, said Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) chairperson Rosario Cabrera.

“That is the focus of our program intended for Iloilo province. It has already taken off. What they did is to conduct an assessment of the different hazards in the different areas to guide our local DRRMC for the preparations that must be put in place,” she said during the National Disaster Consciousness Month celebration Saturday.

But Cabrera, who is also the concurrent regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), noted that “as we go along, a lot of municipalities in Iloilo have improved their capabilities.”

She cited that in Leon, they have established their search and rescue group that will work during disasters.

The towns of Guimbal and Dumangas, both Kalasag awardees, have also good disaster preparedness capabilities.

The Gawad Kalasag Award is an annual Presidential Award given to the municipality/province/city, which has the most exemplary Disaster Coordinating Council having the best Contingency Plan and Disaster Preparedness/Disaster Risk Reduction Management Program.

Cabrera also cited the improvement in the disaster preparedness of Pavia town.

“But on other areas, there are still a lot of work to do,” she added.

Unlike Iloilo, Cabrera said the provinces of Negros Occidental and Antique have outstanding disaster management capabilities.

In a rating of 1 to 10, one being the lowest, she rated Negros Occidental to be on the scale of 9 while Antique is also nearing that mark.

Capiz, she said, with their newly-acquired search and rescue equipment, has also made a lot of improvements. 

To boost the disaster management capabilities of the different DRRMCs, mechanisms have been in place, she added.

“At the regional level, the effectiveness of our response would be dependent on the information that we have received. So, we have the communication and warning system that was established way back 1995. As we go along, we already improved it,” Cabrera said, adding they have likewise replicated it at the lower level.

So far, in Region VI, RDRCCMC said there are around 200 communication groups supporting the RDRRMC in its communication and warning system.

In terms of response capability, RDRRMC has constantly enhanced the capabilities of responders.

There were series of search and rescue trainings conducted in the different provinces that were also cascaded at the municipal level.

In Antique, just like in Negros Occidental, almost all municipalities have their search and rescue groups.

Cabrera said the new RDRRMC structure also helped in the disaster management efforts of the region.

Under the law, the RDRRMC will be assisted by the four vice chairpersons – for preparedness, the Department of the Interior and Local Government DILG) regional director; for prevention and mitigation, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) regional director; for response, the (Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional director; and for recovery and rehabilitation, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

In the old structure, the regional director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is the chairperson while the OCD regional director is the vice chairperson. (FREEMAN)