GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PIA) -- Office of Civil Defense (OCD) XII Regional Director Raylindo Aniñon enjoined the public especially the national government offices, local government units, business establishments, civil society organizations, and all other sectors including households, and individuals to show their support by joining the face-to-face Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) at 2:00p.m. tomorrow, Thursday, March 9.
The identified pilot site of the first quarter NSED for Soccsksargen will be at the BJMP District Jail in Alabel, Sarangani.
Aniñon, who is also the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council XII chairperson, said the activity aims to strengthen the capacities of all sectors to reduce the risks and impacts brought about by earthquakes.
He said the drill will also equip people with proper skills and the right attitude “to effectively respond to and manage the effects of earthquake.”
Aniñon also pointed out that by joining the drill, participants will be able to assess or gauge their preparedness level in the event a strong ground shaking will occur.
On Tuesday (March 7), OCD XII held a Webinar on Earthquake Preparedness and Orientation on Drills/Exercises as component activity of the nationwide drill.
According to Aniñon, the webinar was a must “to enhance the knowledge of participants on earthquake preparedness” and provide them “the necessary guidance on how to properly conduct drills and exercises” especially after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This activity is also part of the continuous IEC campaign of the OCD XII in strengthening the DRRM programs of the region in order to contribute to building resilient communities,” he told participants attending the webinar via Zoom which was also livestreamed on the agency’s FB page.
He said it is important for all sectors to prepare the necessary arrangement prior to the conduct of the first quarter NSED citing NDRRMC Memorandum No. 006, s. 2023 and RDRRMC Memorandum No. 002, s. 2023 on the “Resumption of the Conduct of Traditional In-Person Earthquake Drill.”
DOST-PHIVOLCS General Santos Seismic Station chief Nane Danlag and OCD XII operations section chief Adrian Mishael Gino Morallas were the resource persons during the webinar, attended by over five hundred people on Zoom application alone plus a hundred more watching via livestream.
Danlag discussed the importance of earthquake preparedness. She started off her lecture by highlighting a quote from John Quinlan that goes: “Preparedness is the only way we can combat a natural disaster.”
According to her that this only means “na kailangan natin maging handa palagi” in any way possible.
“So, malapit na naman yung first quarter NSED natin na gaganapin on March 9 kaya kailangan natin i-refresh ulit after two years na wala tayong face-to-face so mahirap maalala…so now we will discuss earthquake preparedness kasi alam naman natin na ang lindol hindi natin kayang i-predict,” she explained in Filipino.
Morallas, on the other hand, explained the need for organizations like schools or any offices for that matter to have an established Disaster Control Group (DCG) that will be responsible for ensuring the safety and security of the people within its area of concern.
He said that DCG, is part of the organization composed of different members with distinct roles, which should be promptly performed especially in times of disaster occurrences. (CTA/PIA SarGen)
