Victorias City unveils evacuation center
BACOLOD CITY: The Victorias City government inaugurated on Thursday, March 14, the P55-million Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center (VCCEC) located in Barangay 13.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. and Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez attended the inauguration of the two-story structure.
“This building symbolizes our determination to protect the lives and safety of our people, showing our strength and commitment,” said Abalos in his message.
“The VCCEC is not merely a structure of concrete and steel, it is a symbol of our collective determination to mitigate the impacts of calamities and protect our communities in times of need,” he added.
The state-of-the-art disaster management and emergency response facility was funded by the Department of Budget and Management through the 2022 Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance to Local Government Unit Program.
“With an investment of P55 million, we have equipped Victorias City with a vital resource that will serve as a safe haven during emergencies and a centralized hub for coordinating disaster response efforts,” Abalos said.
Benitez said the establishment of the VCCEC is “a realization of a dream of every resident of Victorias City.”
“We have collaborated with our DILG to make this project happen, and we couldn’t be more thankful for their support. We commit to utilizing the full potential of this center, maintaining the services it can offer and turning this facility into a model of how an evacuation center should be,” the mayor said.
The facility has a fully equipped disaster operations center with telephone communication system that will augment centralized emergency hotlines, advanced surveillance technology, Internet of Things equipment such as rainfall gauges, proximity and pressure sensors, and other disaster management equipment.
Benitez said the VCCEC was constructed in only six months from May to December last year.
The VCCEC, he said, is part of the 25-hectare Sidlak Victorias Global City, where a new city hall and other city government buildings and facilities, including a housing project, will be constructed.