BONTOC, Mountain Province – Participants from the Bontoc Local Government Unit (LGU), national government agencies, law enforcement agencies, and Barangay LGUs underwent a three-day intensive training on the management of Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on June 28-30, 2023.
The training which was spearheaded by the Bontoc LGU through the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) in coordination with the Office of the Civil Defense – Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) aims to capacitate partner stakeholders in the management of disaster or emergencies, especially in the operationalization of the emergency operations center.
The establishment of EOC is mandated under Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
It was explained to the participants that the local DRRM councils serve as the policymakers and they shall have a physical facility known as EOC. During normal times, it can be their regular operations center but in times of disaster, it will become an EOC.
Thus, the EOC is a facility equipped with personnel and resources that serve as a repository of information and the main hub for coordination to support the management of an incident or planned event. The EOC acts as the link between the Incident Management Teams (IMTs) and the Response Clusters.
During the training, formal guidelines, standard operating procedures, (and) legal basis to further equip an EOC were relayed to the participants.
The training consisted of interactive lectures, workshops, and simulation exercises.
The instructors are TSG Jake Belino of the Philippine Air Force, Tactical Operations Group 1; Arianie Christie Atolba of the Capacity Building and Training Section of the OCD-CAR; Jennifer Pangket and Joan Khayad both from Mountain Province Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
