MMDA chief wants reserve rescuers outside Metro

After sending a contingent of workers to help in relief efforts in the storm-ravaged eastern Visayas, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has learned a valuable lesson: Don’t put all your rescuers in one area.

At the sidelines of awarding ceremonies on Monday for workers deployed to areas hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said he is mulling over the creation of reserve rescue units outside the National Capital Region, in case a disaster strikes the Metro.

Tolentino made the suggestion after reporters asked what the MMDA had learned in three weeks of relief and rehabilitation efforts in central Philippines after local disaster responders were left paralyzed by the supertyphoon.

He added that rescue teams should be prepositioned in Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna and other nearby provinces, ready to respond in case Metro Manila is left crippled by a calamity.

“Metro Manila residents should know where to go and what to do and coordinate with the MMDA in the fastest possible time,” Tolentino said.