FUTURE LEADERS.  Newly elected officers undergoing the 2 day seminar to enhance their leadership skills

By Veronica Laranjo

Through scenarios based on the aftermath of an earthquake, for the first time, Local Government Unit (LGU) in Misamis Occidental took part in the conduct of the Third Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) regional level fronted by the LGU and City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) in Tangub City.

            The said preparedness was held at Gov. Alfonso D. Tan College (GADTC) located in Barangay Maloro, Tangub City, August 8, at exactly 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon.

            According to Engr. Celso Collantes, Head of Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (LDRRMO), the drill would assess the readiness and responsiveness of the community and the capacity to respond to various situations.

            Meanwhile, students in GADTC, employees from the government and private sectors, and residents of Barangay Maloro participated in the drill. They executed the duck, cover and hold upon hearing the loud siren which signaled the start of the drill.

            After that, the participants performed the headcount to ensure that no one is left in the classrooms, offices and houses. Partly, there was a student in the classroom that being rescued by the responders.

            Moreover, other than earthquake, the scenarios of having fire and tsunami were portrayed during the drill as well, as a result of having an earthquake.

            Significantly, most of the department heads in the government were around. The LGUs who were in the proper drill were the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Coastguard Ozamis, Employees in Tangub City, Engineering, City Health of Office or Department Of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine Army, Philippine National Police (PNP), Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Barangay Maloro and GADTC responders and rescue teams from different municipalities in of three cities in Misamis Occidental.

            This years’ third quarter NSED was pursuant to Division Memorandum no. 185, series of 2019. The school disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) coordinators were encouraged to observe the NSED of the said school.

            NSED, on the other hand, is a major endeavor directed by the Office of Civil Defense that aims to enhance preparedness through the regular conduct of drills/exercises. It seeks to educate the public on disaster preparedness against earthquakes and tests the contingency plans of local disaster risk reduction and management councils (LDRRMCs).