Girl, 8, cited for saving baby brother from fire

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  – An eight-year-old girl from Sipalay City in Negros Occidental was among the winners of the recent 2011 Gawad Kalasag National Awards by the National Risk Reduction Management Council and the Office of Civil Defense.

The girl, Virginia Rojo, risked her life to save her 4-month-old brother from a fire that razed their shanty in February 2009.

Virginia, who is now living in her stepbrother’s house in Bacolod City, received the Heroic Act/Deed during Emergency Response and Rescue Operations.

Very conscious of the attention given to her, the girl was very reserved in answering questions from the media. She said she and her baby brother were sleeping when she was suddenly awakened and noticed that their house was on fire.

She quickly lifted her brother from the hammock and ran outside. Although her brother was unharmed, Virginia suffered second degree burns on her face and hands. That incident happened when Virginia was still six years old. Now, she is eight and the brother she rescued is already three years old.

Another awardee in Region 6 was Guimbal town of Iloilo for the Best Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) in the 4th to 6th class category. Guimbal and Sapian town in Capiz bested two other contenders to win the distinction.

For winning the award for three consecutive years, Guimbal was elevated to the Hall of Fame 2012. Mayor Christine Garin said she was very proud of this achievement by the town’s functional MDRRMC, which is actively being supported by the civil society, barangays, NGOs and schools, among others.

Garin said the MDRRMC has trained volunteer group that is ready 24 hours to respond to emergency situations and undertaken continuous information drives and simulation exercises in the barangays and schools to empower them of their role in the program of the LGU.

The town’s Cabasi-Sta.Rosa Elementary School also won the National Gawad Kalasag (school category) and Barangay Sipitan-Badiang placed second place in the barangay Level.

DILG Undersecretary Benito Ramos, executive director of the NDRRMC and administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, in his speech during the awarding rites, appealed for an active partnership between private and public sectors in risk reduction and disaster response.

“Our over all objective is for minimal, if not zero casualty, during disasters but there are circumstances that are beyond our control. But with the help of all sectors concerned, we can make it,” he said, as he further lauded the LGUs in Region 6 for their collective preparedness during disasters.

Organizers of the event lauded the Western Visayas region for winning almost half of the awards that were given at the National Gawad Kalasag.

“Kalasag” is a Filipino term for shield and is also an acronym for Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan, the official title of the competition. It recognizes outstanding performance of LGUs, private/volunteer organizations, local, national and international NGOs, donor agencies, and the communities in implementing disaster risk management projects and activities, and providing humanitarian response and aid to affected communities. (FREEMAN)