Caloocan mayor eyes disaster control office

Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri has urged the passage of an ordinance creating an office that will ensure the safety of residents in the event of calamities.

Echiverri said that the measure, which has been pending in the city council, lays down the guidelines that will constitute what he called the Caloocan City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO).

According to the proposed legislation, the CCDRRMO will oversee operations concerning the safety and security of people residing in the city’s 188 barangays, particularly when disasters brought by inclement weather, among others, strike.

The proposed formation of the disaster management office is seen as an attempt to bolster the precautionary and mitigating efforts of the already-existing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

“The successive occurrences of typhoons within the Philippine area of responsibility mean that (this) is timely. I urge the… councilors to hasten (its) passage… so that this particular office may be formed,” Echiverri said.

Meanwhile, for his part, Councilor Ricojudge Echiverri, Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas president, has directed officials and watchmen at the barangay level to carry whistles at all times especially during the rainy season.

He said that the same can be used as effective warning systems in cases of emergency.