WFP advances way of responding to emergencies
Among the early responders were the Atok Municipal Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council thru Engineer Ernesto dela Torre, local residents, barangay officials, Mayor Peter Alos, and Governor Nestor Fongwan.
Other responders who rushed to the site included the police stationed at Camp 3 in Caliking and KM 38 in Abiang, workers from Atok Fire Station and District Hospital, and volunteers from Sayangan.
These kinds of situation are deemed important by the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP). WFP believes that local government units (LGUs) must have a simplified and uncluttered system of response in a disaster situation.
With this, WFP launched its Disaster Preparedness and Response Project to improve emergency management in the Philippines. Through its local NGO partner Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), it held trainings on technical support in 9 municipalities in the four (4) most disaster-prone provinces in the country.
These are Atok and Tublay in Benguet; Amulong, Enrile, and Aparri in Cagayan; Mabitac and Pila in Laguna; and Irosin and Juban in Sorsogon.
According to PBSP, lack of training and communication system are the primary factors that worsen the casualties in times of disaster. Responding to accidents are more difficult in rural areas than in cities due to resource limitation, remoteness, and communication. Fortunately for the Benguet incident, its LGU and other volunteers were quick enough to respond and ask help through identified channels of communication.
Parts of the workshop conducted by PBSP are Incident Command System (ICS); Hazard/Risk Assessment; Enhanced Communication System and Protocols; Strategic Planning Workshop; On-call Technical Assistance; Contingency Planning Formulation; and Strengthening of PDRRMC through Operations Manual.
The Incident Command System (ICS) training was particularly helpful in the Benguet vehicular accident. It enabled the responders to follow a strategic rescue operation by designating specific duties to each group of responders.
ICS is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazards incident management approach that provided a coordinated response among various jurisdictions and functional agencies, both public and private.
Telecommunication was also helpful through the volunteers’ text messages seeking immediate help from Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC), Benguet EMS, 911 on Call, and Baguio-Benguet Public Information & Civic Action Group (BBPCAG).
WFP’s project strengthens regional, provincial, and local emergency management teams through financial support and trainings. It basically equips LGUs and other local partners with the skills to overcome the challenges of disaster response, particularly in rural and remote areas.