CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga-Palayan City hugged the limelight during the recent Regional Gawad KALASAG awarding ceremony after it bagged four honors.
Its local government was named Best City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) Independent and Component City category for continually achieving excellence in mobilizing stakeholders to pursue commendable disaster risk reduction and management program.
“As shown by financial records, Palayan CDRRMC has properly allocated its Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund to pre-disaster activities such as acquiring the necessary equipment to beef up preparedness and response capacities. The city has likewise generously extended assistance to other disaster-stricken local government units (LGUs) in the region,” Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council chair Josefina Timoteo said.
Meanwhile, Popolon was conferred with the Best Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee-Urban category for demonstrating sincerity and resolute commitment in equipping its leaders and people with knowledge, skills, and attitude in managing disaster risks- from understanding hazards and exposure to risks and vulnerabilities to internalizing roles and responsibilities particularly in managing disaster situations.
“Popolon’s efficiency and effectiveness in managing an evacuation center as shown vividly during a simulation drill likewise reflects its willingness to learn and share lessons and experiences with neighboring villages,” Timoteo underscored.
Moreover, Palayan City National High School was bestowed with the Best Public School in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management- Urban category accolade for the second straight year for still being an exemplary demonstration of a systematic and orderly standard emergency mechanism, mainstreaming and sustaining best practices on disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation, and providing assistance to the community during calamities.
Palayan City Rescue Volunteers for the Community (RVC 1016 Rescue), on the other hand, took home the Best in Government Emergency Response Management-Basic Search and Rescue category for being a benchmark in the field of search and rescue and conduct of disaster preparedness capacity building activities such as first aid, basic/advanced life support, fire rescue, high-angle rescue, swift-water rescue, confined space rescue, underwater search and rescue, and vehicle extrication.
KALASAG, which stands for KAlamidad at Sakuna LAbanan, SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan, was conceived to encourage participation of various stakeholders in crafting and implementing Disaster Risk Reduction and Management programs aimed at protecting or shielding high risk communities against hazards.
Apart from Palayan, other winners were Bulacan as Best Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) for third straight year, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Fire Rescue as Best in Government Emergency Response Management-Urban Search and Rescue, San Fernando as 2nd Best City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-Independent and Component City category, San Fernando Rescue Unit as 2ndBest in Government Emergency Response Management-Basic Search and Rescue category, and Tarlac Disaster Assitance and Rescue Team as 3rd Best in Government Emergency Response Management-Basic Search and Rescue category.
Special citations were also handed out to Palayan CDRRM Office head Dudley Romero and former Pampanga PDRRM Office chief Lulu Alingcastre during an hour-long ceremony that was graced by OCD Deputy Executive Administrator Romeo Fajardo. It served as among the highlights of the inaugural Central Luzon RDRRM Summit for Local Chief Executives.
A selection committee composed of representatives from OCD, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Information Agency, Philippine Red Cross, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine National Police picked the regional honorees, which are automatically Central Luzon’s bets to the national competition.
National awardees shall be announced on October, in time for the observance of ASEAN Day for Disaster Management and the International Day for Disaster Reduction.
Last year, two of Central Luzon’s nominees won- Sta. Rita in Olongapo City as Best Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee-Urban category, and Bulacan as Best PDRRMC. (Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu)
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