CAMP MANUEL YAN, Mawab, Compostela Valley -- A top military officer
has designated one platoon of soldiers for every battalion as the first
responders during calamities in Davao Region and in the provinces of
Sarangani and South Cotabato.
Brig. General Ariel Bernardo, commander of the 10th Infantry
Division, disclosed the move is aimed to immediately address emergency
situations brought about by abnormal weather conditions due to climate
change.
He affirmed that risk reduction and management is one of the missions
of the military in its peace and development effort characterized by
linking up with all stakeholders in local government units and the
private sector.
“We are training our soldiers to be first responders. And part of the
first responder training is the establishment of the incident command
system where all information about the disaster at hand is put in place
before turning it over to the local government unit in a given area,”
Bernardo said.
He said the information covers the type and extent of the calamity,
initial appreciation of the number of victims, search and rescue and
relief operations.
Bernardo said as first responders, the military will immediately
assume as incident commander to ensure that the needs of affected
communities are attended to immediately.
“Based on the hazard map provided for by the Mines and Geosciences
Bureau, we designate one platoon for every battalion in a given area to
dispatch immediately when calamities either natural or man-made occur,”
he said.
Bernardo said Davao Region is prone to landslides and they are also
identifying the fault lines in their respective areas to prepare
themselves whenever earthquakes occur.
Bernardo said all priorities on disaster response are coordinated with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
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