3,000 avail of city’s emergency services

CEBU, Philippines - Over 3,000 patients have already benefited from the services offered by Cebu City’s emergency response team and City Command Center (C3).

According to Councilor David Tumulak, a total of 3,099 medical services have already been rendered to the constituents for the first quarter of the year. The city has an average annual emergency response of 5,000.

“First quarter pa gani taas na ang atong response rate, so klaro kaayo nga ang mga tawo nihangop gyod sa services sa syudad,” Tumulak told The FREEMAN.

The city government has allocated P200 million for the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to utilize in times of disasters or emergencies.

Tumulak said the C3 and the city’s ambulances made a huge contribution in responding to more than 3,000 patients.

“We have seven ambulances that serve 24/7 for free. Naka-respond ta sa mga incidents like pagpanganak, vehicular accidents, [and] domestic violence. Ni-decrease and mortality rate kay naluwas man tungod sa emergency medical services nga naa sa mga ambulances,” Tumulak said.

The C3, now operating 24 hours, will also be responsible for receiving complaints and concerns from the citizens and forwarding them to appropriate offices of the city.

Tumulak earlier said they have compact communication with all barangay and law enforcement agencies to address concerns from garbage to peace and order, as well as to entertain public requests for emergency and disaster response.

He said it is their aim to respond to an emergency within five minutes.

“We are very keen sa monitoring kay kun naay mga untoward incidents, maka-dispatch dayon ta og ambulances or immediately maka-contact sa authorities near the vicinity sa area of incident,” he said.

The city has at least 14 volunteer K-9 dogs to help the city disaster team respond to emergencies and disasters, either manmade or natural.

“Ato ning gi-train ang mga K9 dogs for life and dead body retrieval and detection; bomb and black powder detection ug uban pa,” Tumulak said adding that K9 dogs would augment city’s response team.

Furthermore, the center was opened last month. Its primary aim is “crime suppression, prevention, connectivity and accurate and credible information dissemination.”

The C3 has 180 auxiliaries in different barangays and has 65 medical personnel ready for deployment. (FREEMAN)