BAGUIO CITY – More than 800 individuals joined in the very first colorful and fun “Run for Resilience” in Baguio City on July 16, 2018 held at Burnham Park Lake Drive, the anniversary of Baguio’s famous killer earthquake.
Uniformed men and women, representatives from the different member agencies of the Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC), and the general public ran, jogged, and walked simultaneously in a fun run organized by the Office of Civil Defense Cordillera (OCD-CAR), and in coordination with the City Government of Baguio.
The Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) held the recreational activity to encourage locals to learn how to manage crises and help them become resilient in the face of disaster.
According to OCD-CAR concurrent regional director Melchito Castro and OCD-CAR Information Officer Ivy Carasi, the fun run aims to promote resilience advocacy, encourage various stakeholders to invest on DRRM, reinforce public perception on the government’s DRRM efforts, and to commemorate the 28th year of July 16, 1990 earthquake that shook different parts of Luzon and killed scores in Baguio and CAR, hence, establishing the importance of the event to residents who themselves have experienced a major disaster 28 years ago.
Dir. Castro also reminisce his own experience during the 1990 earthquake then he reminded the runners that DRRM is everyone’s business. “We are called to make a difference. We must take hold of the opportunity to responsibly manage the environment, and lead the way towards making our nation resilient and sustainable”, he remarked.
“We want it to make an impact on the residents”, said Carasi, explaining that the event would remind people of how they managed to survive the disaster and ultimately recover from their losses.
The three-kilometrer run had no categories. It began at Burnham Park Lake Drive to Session Road, then to the University of the Philippines Baguio Drive, TM Kalaw Street, and back to the starting point. The run served as the highlight activity for the observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) this July.
The observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) is covered by Executive Order No. 29 which mandates the conduct of activities relative to building disaster resilience covering the four thematic areas namely disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster rehabilitation and recovery.
It will be recalled that EO No. 29, signed on June 28, 2017 by President Rodrigo Duterte, renamed the National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM), observed in the month of July, to National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) to shift the focus from building disaster awareness to enabling residents to become disaster resilient.
This year’s NDRM theme focuses on building disaster resilience which says “KATATAGAN SA KALAMIDAD ay Makakamtan Kapag Sapat ang Kaalaman sa Kahandaan”.
OCD-CAR is also set to plant more than 200 tree seedlings at Busol Watershed on July 24, 2018 with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Philippine Air Force (PAF)
By JEROMY VERAYO with reports from OCD-CAR.
Banner Photo: MORNING SHOWER. A BFP fire truck gun starts the Cordillera Regional DRRM Council “Run for Resilience” at Burnham Park lakeside, Monday. An activity in observance of National Disaster Resilience Month and in remembering the July 16, 1990 Luzon Earthquake was joined by more than 800 runners from the CRDRRMC member agencies and volunteer groups/individuals. (Lito Dar/PIA CAR)
