BONTOC, Mountain Province – There is still a need to re-orient the participants of the 3rd Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (3QNSED) conducted here on September 28,2016.
In the post evaluation conducted after the drill, it came out that some did not properly execute the Duck-Cover-Hold technique while some did not take the drill seriously.
The participants were employees of national government agencies in Bontoc who were not included in the earthquake drill held in the first and second quarter of this year, some business establishments, faculty, staff and students of the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College (MPSPC) and Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School (MPGCHS).
Real-life scenarios like earthquake induced accidents were also executed at the Government Center to instill earthquake preparedness among the participants. Trained personnel of the Provincial Security Services Office and 77th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army (IB, PA) acted as responders.
According to Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer (LDRRMO) IV Paul L. Lengwa of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRMMO), the drill aims to familiarize the people with the proper execution of the Duck-Cover-Hold position and to inculcate the practice of orderly evacuation procedure.
With the result of the assessment however, Lengwa said that the PDRRMO plans to form an orientation team in coordination with the Mountain Province Provincial Police Office (MPPPO), Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMOs), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). The team plans to visit offices and schools, especially those with poor performance during the earthquake drill to re-orient them on the proper execution of the Duck-Cover-Hold position and other safety reminders in case an earthquake happens or occurs; more importantly, for the team to help people internalize the value of being productive.
Lengwa further recommended that the presence of an individual trained on First –aid and Basic Life Support (BLS) and regular conduct of earthquake drill in every office or institution is very helpful in actual cases of earthquake or accidents.
Personnel from the Mountain Province Provincial Police Office (MPPPO), Bontoc Municipal Police Station, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) of Bontoc, 77th IB, PA, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Emergency Response (ER) 26, Health Emergency Management System (HEMS) of the Bontoc General Hospital, Red Cross- Mountain Province and members of the Provincial Emergency Management Team (PERT) were deployed to assess the evacuation plans of all the participating agencies and institutions.
A scenario of magnitude 7.2 earthquake generated by the Tubao Fault located in the Province of La Union was used during the earthquake drill. Accordingly, once the active fault moves, it may prompt strong quakes measuring up to Intensity 8 (very destructive) in Benguet; Intensity 6 (destructive) in Mountain Province and Abra and Intensity 5 (strong) in Apayao and Kalinga.
The NSED is a regular activity spearheaded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) which is cascaded down to local DRRMs to promote a culture of safety awareness and foresight among all people.
By Alpine L. Killa
