Ched-Davao: Quake drill not just ‘procedural activity’ but necessity

AN OFFICIAL from the Commission on Higher Education-Davao Region (ChedDavao) said that there is a need to prepare students for disasters and other calamities.

Louie Juera, Ched-Davao education supervisor, said during the First Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) 2024 on Monday, March 25 at the Rizal Memorial College (RMC) in Davao City, that the drill is not just a “procedural activity” but also an important opportunity for students to be prepared and vigilant in times of disasters.

“Drills like this are crucial in instilling a sense of preparedness, enhancing our community resilience, and ultimately safeguarding practice lives,” Juera said.

The official added that they are teaching them not only how to respond in times of emergencies, but also instilling them to be prepared and responsible in responding to emergencies.

“Institution[s] of higher learning plays a pivotal role in disaster risk reduction by integrating these drills into our educational framework [...] It is about transforming fear into foresight, panicking into planning, and victims into survivors,” he said.

The drill, which is conducted quarterly, aims to promote disaster preparedness and resilience among communities.

RMC was chosen by the Office of the Civil Defense-Davao Region (OCD-Davao) for the pilot testing, which would eventually be replicated in other schools.

Lawyer Ernesto Raphael Robillo, RMC vice president for administration, said that there is a need to instill preparedness for there is still no device that could predict when and where an earthquake would strike.

“Although we have a lot of machines, the term in seismology or seismic machine that [gets] records, it is never enough to make us ready. We only have seconds before it happens,” Robillo said.

Abdullah V. Matalam, Department of the Interior and Local Government-Davao Region (DILG-Davao) OIC-regional director, also emphasized that having the NSED is important as this would be applicable to other natural disasters, including typhoons.

“DILG is very much ready to aid in any way possible because our department is committed [to protecting] the people from disasters and even come up with operations... Hence, in any event, kinahanglan preparado ta (we should be prepared).” /