BUTUAN CITY -- Forty-two educators from Caraga region and staff from the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (LDRRMCs) completed the 5-Day Basic Incident Command System (BICS) Blended Training Course  on April 18-22, via Zoom video teleconference and OCD Training Information Management System (IMS).

The Basic ICS Course was conducted by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga, through the Capacity Building and Training Section (CBTS). Apart from taking part in the VTC discussions and breakout sessions, the participants also answered self-paced learning requirements, accomplished pre-test, read initial reading modules and submitted assignments as requirements in finishing the Basic ICS.

Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) Caraga Chairperson and OCD Caraga Regional Director Liza R. Mazo emphasized the importance of ICS for volunteers and educators especially those who are involved in disaster risk reduction and management.

The ICS is a standard, on-scene, and all-hazard incident management concept introduced by the US Forest Service that can be used by all DRRM Councils, school DRRM coordinators and response agencies. It is a disaster response tool that coordinates the actions of all response groups.

Following the enactment of Republic Act 10121, otherwise known as the Philippine DRRM Act of 2010, the Philippine government took a proactive approach to manage the disaster consequences and reduce disaster risks by institutionalizing various mechanisms. Among these is the ICS, one of the flagship programs of the OCD. By virtue of various NDRRMC issuances, ICS has been institutionalized as an on-scene disaster response tool of the Philippine DRRM System. (OCD-Caraga/PIA- Caraga)