Rescue MARCH tests disaster response teams’ preparedness for powerful quake

MANILA, Philippines–To measure their readiness to respond to disasters, more than 700 rescue personnel from all over the country joined Sunday’s 17-kilometer-long Rescue MARCH (Mass Assembly for Rescue and Care for Humanity) from Quezon City to Manila.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), one of the participants in the event, said that some of the rescuers were from the 17 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila.

“Aside from those coming from Metro Manila, we also have rescue units from Baguio, Bukidnon, Tacloban and Tagaytay,” MMDA General Manager Cora Jimenez said during the agency’s radio program.

Jimenez, who also joined the march which started at the Quezon City Hall and ended at the Manila City Hall, added that LGUs nationwide saw the need to conduct an exercise that would test their rescue personnel’s stamina.

“We need to enhance our rescue capabilities to be more prepared in times of disasters,” she added, citing Saturday’s quake in Nepal which left more than a thousand people dead.

Now in its second year, the Rescue MARCH gathers emergency response groups and search-and-rescue units to test each personnel’s physical fitness and operational readiness should a 7.2-magnitude  earthquake hit Metro Manila.

Activity convenor and disaster risk reduction advocate Martin Aguda Jr. earlier said that the march was more of an “endurance test” for rescuers. He added that their stamina and physical fitness would be put to test should an earthquake hit with the affected areas reachable only by going on foot.