DIFFUN, Quirino (PIA) - - The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) here headed by Mayor May G. Calaunan recently conducted the first-ever Disaster Summit participated by school principals and barangay captains.

Calaunan, who is also the MDRRMC chairperson, said the forum was held for barangay captains and the principals to discuss their responsibilities and learn from their experiences in the past natural or human-induced disasters that occurred in their municipality.

She also expressed her gratitude to all the participants who attended the DRRM Summit as she stressed the importance of their roles in managing future calamities.

Hensel T. Guillermo, municipal disaster risk reduction officer, said the forum aimed to emphasize the roles and responsibilities of school heads and barangay captains in implementing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) in their respective areas of responsibility.

“In DRRM management, the roles and responsibilities of the Barangay DRRMCs as well as the school principals as partners are very crucial especially on the evacuation management,” Guillermo said, adding that there are concerns to be addressed immediately such as the use of classrooms as evacuation centers per Deped Order No. 37 series of 2022 citing schools as temporary shelters for evacuees.

Guillermo also said the summit is just the first among the series of forums to be conducted in the future for responders in the barangays such as the barangay health workers, barangay nutrition scholars, nurses, and students.

Guillermo further said he discussed the Evacuation Management System Guidelines and Process for the barangay disaster councils to have common procedure to follow and how to coordinate with Department of Education thru the principals regarding the use of classrooms to ensure a smooth flow of the evacuation process and management in general.

A panel discussion was also conducted where the MDRRMO, DepEd, PDRRMO, DILG and the ABC President identified and addressed the issues and concerns that they have experienced relative to DRR management. (OTB/TCB/PIA Quirino)