CAMP AGUINALDO, QUEZON CITY— The
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States Armed Forces
USAF) were able to see the perspective of the Japan Self-Defence
Force’s (JSDF) Disaster and Response Operations (DRO) when the
9.0-magnitude earthquake hit Eastern Japan, March last year.
This
was during yesterday’s Balikatan Exercise 2012 (BK12) Senior Leader’s
Seminar SLS) on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) at
the Tejeros Hall of the AFP Commissioned Officers Club. The seminar is
the first of its kind which pump primed the Command Post Exercise (CPX)
that started today at Camp Aguinaldo. The table top exercise will
simulate different natural disaster and calamity scenarios which will
test and improve the planning, preparations, program of action and
responses of both Philippine and US military.
Captain Yuzo
Shibata of JSDF shared yesterday the general immediate response of
their military during natural disasters. “In my country, when disaster
strikes, the local governors in each respective prefectures are to issue
the JSDF aid request to local military unit. Upon receiving the
request, the unit will either conduct DR Ops or pass the word to the
other units, other branches, depending on the scale of the disaster. In
case if the communication tools are all down and the situations are
obviously critical, the commanders of the local units are expected to
conduct DR Ops by their own judgment,” Shibata said.
Japan
is said to be the most prepared country for an earthquake or a tsunami
but the March 2011 disaster proved that even the most prepared is not
safe from the terrible effects of natural calamities. Following the
Nuclear Power Plant threat in Fukushima, JSDF conducted aerial and
ground water spraying, search and rescue operations within contaminated
areas, and screenings after the entry to contaminated areas. Shibata
said that during the crisis, JSDF “never imagined doing these operations
before.”
Foreseeing future challenges, Capt Shibata
finally recommended for the review of the Disaster Relief Operations
Plan, and Crisis Management Postures by cooperating with relevant
organizations.
The SLS is a venue in the BK12 that allows
senior level discussions on HADR lessons, processes, and functions that
will enhance local and international humanitarian risk
reduction/mitigation and response mechanisms. Accordingly, foreign
partners discussed their experiences and mechanisms in terms of HADR.
Different
representatives from local and foreign agencies with vast experience
and knowledge on the conduct of HADR attended yesterday’s seminar. USEC
Benito Ramos, Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction
Management Center presented the Philippine Disaster Response System;
MGen Romeo V Calizo, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, discussed
AFP’s Role on HADR; and Dir Edgardo Ollet (MNSA), Chief of the
Operations Center of the Civil Defense Office, discussed the Philippine
HADR Experience.
Also, Col Timothy C Frantz of the US
3rd Marine Division discussed Operation Tomodachi, US Armed Forces’
assistance program to Japan following 2011’s earthquake and tsunami. He
was joined by LTC Stuart Graham who will discuss the Australian Defence
Force’s Disaster Response Relief programs.
Todd Bosse,
Senior Geospatial Info Analyst of the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC)
talked about the facilities, programs and other going-ons of the PDC.
Also present were Col James Reilly USMC, Chief of Staff of the
USMARFORPAC; and Col Rafael Valencia, Chief of the ARMO, Philippine Army
who acted as moderators of the Panel Discussions.
AFP
Chief of Staff General Jessie D Dellosa said that the SLS in the
Balikatan 2012 aims to strengthen and enhance internal Philippine HADR
processes through collaborative dialogue. “The different approaches
employed by other countries in HADR will surely help us widen our
perspective and improve our policies, procedures, preparations, and
responses in the emergence of natural calamities and man-made disasters
in the Philippines,” Gen Dellosa said.
“We thank the
participants for sharing to us their experiences by which we can derive
lessons and best practices for the improvement of our own HADR policies
and responses. Having shared also our expertise in HADR, we hope that
collective and collaborative efforts will continue for the benefit of
the people we serve,” Gen Dellosa added.
Balikatan 2012 is
the 28th of the series that sprung from decades of friendship and
mutual assistance between the Philippines and the United States. The
main focus of this year’s exercises is Humanitarian Assistance and
Disaster Response. The activity seeks to identify gaps and solutions
from previous disaster situations that will be addressed through
discussions with representatives from foreign disaster response
systems.
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