GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PIA) – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Region XII has announced that this year’s Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) will concentrate on community participation and evaluating response mechanisms for local government units (LGU) and national government agencies.
During Thursday’s episode of the “i-Inform Mo” radio program of the Philippine Information Agency, Jorie Mae Balmediano, OCD Soccsksargen Information Officer, highlighted the importance of elevating the level of preparedness, especially of local government units, through enhanced drills, which will start with the first quarter NSED.
“For this quarter po, mas bibigyang diin na natin ang participation of the community, at the same time, pagte-test talaga ng response mechanism na meron tayo sa ating local government units as well as sa ating national government agencies,” Balmediano said.
(For this quarter, we will place greater emphasis on community participation while also thoroughly testing the response mechanism we have in our local government units as well as in our national government agencies.)
Unlike previous years when simple evacuation and earthquake drills were conducted, the upcoming NSED will feature a “functional exercise” designed to test the readiness of government agencies and disaster response units.
The exercise will incorporate key components such as the Incident Command System, Emergency Operation Centers, and response clusters.
“Ngayon, we leveled it up to functional type of exercise na kung saan ite-test na natin yung mga mekanismong itinuro [sa] Incident Command System, Emergency Operation Center, response cluster, at kung gaano na ba tayo kahanda kung sakasakali mang magkaroon ng malakas na lindol o sakuna,” Balmediano added.
(Now, we have upgraded to a functional type of exercise where we will test the mechanisms we learned from the Incident Command System, Emergency Operation Center, response cluster, and how prepared we are in case a strong earthquake or disaster occurs.)
The OCD also urged LGUs and their DRRM Councils to go beyond compliance by ensuring that their earthquake drills genuinely enhance disaster awareness and response efficiency.
Also, Balmediano said that the goal is to foster active community involvement and strengthen existing disaster preparedness strategies.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has also released a memorandum outlining the proper planning and execution of earthquake drills.
Balmediano pointed out that the guidelines aim to address concerns about drills being conducted merely for compliance purposes, ensuring that every exercise is structured effectively to maximize disaster preparedness at all levels. (SRP – PIA SarGen)
