MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chair Francis Tolentino is inviting graduates of nursing and other related medical courses to become paramedics and first-responders in its rescue group, a unit that needs additional staff to deal with road accidents and emergencies.
Tolentino told reporters his agency needed the additional manpower as some of its pramedics have left for greener pastures.
“Right now we are in immediate need of 12 nurses. Applicants need not have licenses as long as they are graduates of nursing, physical therapy and related medical degrees. We will provide them with training,” he said.
Tolentino received two ambulances donated by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in Pasay City on Friday which he welcomed as a much-needed boost to the MMDA’s rescue capability.
The MMDA has had to make do with five ambulances, which Tolentino described as aging, and a handful of other emergency vehicles.
He expressed gratitude to PCSO chair Margarita Juico and general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II for the two ambulances. The charity office committed three more vehicles to the MMDA.
The MMDA chair said the paramedics at the agency would receive extensive training on road emergencies and rescue operations, on top of a modest salary and other employment benefits.
Tolentino expressed alarm over the number of road accidents in recent weeks. Just this week, at least five fatal accidents were reported to the MMDA, including the incident on Tuesday night on Quezon Avenue where a bus crashed into concrete barrier, killing its conductor.
“With so many road accidents happening at the same time, our resources are stretched to the limit. We need to have more manpower and equipment,” Tolentino said.
He observed that the rainy weather could be a factor in the increasing number of road accidents.