ILOILO CITY (PIA) — The Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) received an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) package that will help further enhance its capacities for disaster response and resilience.
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) through the Climate Resilient Cities (CRC) donated the EOC package funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The EOC package was turned over to Mayor Jerry Treñas at the City Mayor’s Office.
It is a major contribution in strengthening the city’s capabilities in data processing, visualization, communication and continuity during and after a disaster. It also aims to enhance the city’s operation center’s capacity by streamlining its weather forecasts and ensuring continuity of services during crises.
According to a report from the city Public Information Office the package includes 2 sets of geographic information system (GIS) workstations; 3 sets of TVs and mobile stands; 2 units of AVR; 1 unit of HDMI speaker; 1 unit of power station; and 2 units of Starlink satellite internet connection.
The GIS workstations and other equipment will be strategically placed at the ICARE Gaisano Iloilo City Center along Diversion Road, which serves as a repository for wider-scale disaster operations, information, and humanitarian assistance.
Following the turnover ceremony are a series of training workshops on enhancing climate data, which will contribute to accelerating data-driven disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (DRR-CCA) planning in the city.
Project Manager of CRC Project Alex Czar Masiglat said that the turnover of the EOC equipment package is just one of the initial DRR operations they had with the city.
“This initiative will beef up the capacity of the city to prepare a better response to and recover from climate-resilient hazards and incidents that are natural or human-induced,” said Masiglat in the press report.
Head of Development Programs and Innovations Unit of PDRF, Anna Katrina Aspuria, thanked USAID for having them as partners in the CRS program, which has been running for 3 years.
Aspuria highlighted their commitment to the city by creating more programs and training on EOC management courses for CDRRMO officers, which will improve their services on capacity development and create better disaster plans in the future.
Treñas expressed his gratitude to USAID through the CRS project for further enhancing the capabilities of the city’s DRRMO in disaster response.
He said the city government has been making efforts to safeguard the safety and well-being of the public through the ICARE centers.
Treñas stressed that this venture underscores a strong commitment to driving better coordination and emergency response to such disasters, noting that “the more people we train, the more resilient we become.” (AAL/LAF/PIA6-Iloilo/Iloilo City PIO)
