Batac: Saving lives by empowering communities on disaster preparedness

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When Jojo Cumlat, a local mediaman and resident of Barangay Abkir in Vintar town, Ilocos Norte province decided to run as village councilor, little did he know that he will not just be enacting laws. He will also assist the village chief to fulfill his duties and responsibilities as a village leader and to help ensure peace and order in the locality.

During the pandemic, Cumlat, along with other village officials, served as frontliners tasked to implement strict border control, implement lockdowns, establish quarantine facilities, and help ensure that the public understood how to prevent the spread of the virus.

In times of calamities, village officials are again in the frontline of disaster preparedness and response.

Without receiving extra remuneration or hazard pay for the things they do as public servants, Cumlat said he is happy to be of service to his constituents even if this means risking his life for them.

On Thursday, he joined around 1,800 fellow village officials and volunteers from Regions 1, 2, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) who are now certified as trainers in disaster risk reduction and management in their respective communities.

“This is the hardest training I attended so far as a village official because we were trained how to rescue, perform first aid, and how to effectively respond during typhoon, earthquake or other natural calamities. But we are thankful to the Office of Civil Defense and the Office of the (Presidential) Assistant Secretary for Northern Luzon represented by Asec (Assistant Secretary) Ana Carmela Remigio for equipping us with the knowledge and skills to help save lives,” Cumlat told the Philippine News Agency during the closing ceremony of the five-day community-based disaster risk reduction and management training of trainors held in various parts of Northern Luzon.

As one of the pioneering Agent for Risk Damage Management (AGRIDAM) participant in Northern Luzon, Kristofferson Monis, a public servant from Narvacan town, Ilocos Sur province said, “it pays when you know what to do” before, during, and after a natural disaster.

Like Monis and Cumlat, Mirna Ganimtore, a local disaster risk reduction and management assistant of the local government of Sanchez Mira town in Cagayan province said the rigid training has widened her understanding on the four thematic areas namely: prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response and early recovery, as well as recovery and rehabilitation to reach out more constituents in distress.

“We now have highly-skilled individuals [in the village) to prepare for any disaster and they are qualified to train other people. So, this has multiplier effect in empowering the community not just in the barangay (village), municipality but the rest of the nation to help us address shortage of responders during disaster,” said Remigio in a media interview.

For his part, OCD Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno lauded the organizers and participants of the first of its kind AGRIDAM project in Northern Luzon, and hopes that this will be institutionalized in other parts of the country to facilitate immediate action and strengthen community resilience. (Leilanie Adriano)

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