Cebu City staff undergo disaster response course

To effectively respond to emergency situations, staff of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO) underwent a three-day basic incident command system course at the Police Regional Office 7.

The course, organized by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) from June 19 to June 21, covered  setting up an effective and efficient response management system.

The staff joined participants from the OCD, Bureau of Fire Protection, Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coastguard, Philippine Army, Air Force of the Philippines, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Telecommunications Commission and the Philippine National Police
Operations officer Alvin Santillana, who represented Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, explained that during emergency rescue operations there is lack of clarity on who’s in charge, who’s directing operations on the ground, especially in a multi-agency operations setting.

Santillana said with the threat of man-made disasters brought about by the “climate change,” it is necessary to have a standard operating procedure in responding to disasters.