Bacolod City – The provincial government of Negros Occidental wants a unified disaster response protocol for adoption during emergency and disaster situations.
This was the main objective of the provincial government of Negros Occidental for holding the First Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) summit held yesterday at the Mambukal Resort Convention Center in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who spoke at the summit, said that it is only through the effective management of conditions of hazards, exposure, and vulnerability that the people and the government can prevent losses and ease the impacts of disasters.
“Since we cannot control the severity of natural hazards, our window for reducing risk lies in reducing vulnerability and exposure,” Lacson said.
All local government chief executives and DRRM officers of the different towns and cities of the province participated in the summit.
Lacson also cited the expansion of the scope of services of the Provincial Disaster Management Office that effectively matched the need for emergency response, including the One Hospital Command, Emergency Rescue 911, and Command and Response Center, as well as the improvement of the Automated Early Warning System, with repeaters installed in LGU critical areas, that aims to improve the response of concerned barangays in times of emergency.
Sessions in the training workshop included Strategies for Managing Mental Health and Stress in the Workplace, Introduction to Incident Command System (ICS), ICS Organization and Staffing, ICS Facilities, and Managing Planned Events and Major Incidents, among others.
Provincial Administrator Atty. Rayfrando Diaz and Provincial Disaster Management Program Division Head, Dr. Zeaphard Caelian, also joined the summit.
The activity is part of the observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month this July. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)
