House panel tackles bill on regular disaster drills

The House committee on national defense is deliberating on a measure mandating the regular conduct of disaster risk reduction drills in educational institutions nationwide.

Authored by Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., the bill mandates that risk reduction drills be held annually in all educational institutions throughout the country in coordination with the schools’ respective local government units.

He said educating children with safety measures in the event of disasters through awareness and participatory learning promotes a culture of safety and resilience.

“The Philippines’ location along the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes it prone to natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It is therefore of paramount concern to equip our children with necessary skills that can save their lives,” he added.

The Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology ( Phivolcs) recently released the Valley Fault System Atlas, showing a 100-kilometer fault that passes through Marikina, Quezon City, Pasig, Makati, Taguig, Muntinlupa and Bulacan. The fault is expected to cause a magnitude 7.2 quake that is estimated to kill 37,000 people in Metro Manila.

As provided by House Bill 5722, the drills shall include practice and instruction concerning the location and use of emergency exits, fire exits, fire extinguishers and other facilities provided for such purpose in buildings.

“The drills shall also include complete evacuation of all persons from buildings, if necessary. Teachers and personnel shall be trained in assisting students in the evacuation of a building in times of disasters,” Andaya said.

The measure also mandates that reports of all risk reduction drills shall be filed with the respective Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of each region, giving the time and date of each drill held.

The Department of Education and its regional and district offices, in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Department of the Interior and Local Government, shall ensure implementation of the bill.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) assured the public that it is “continuously upscaling its preparation to ensure efficient response” during calamities, including the magnitude 7.2 quake dubbed as the “Big One.”

PRC chairman Richard Gordon said the agency has been preparing for a very strong earthquake since the Metropolitan Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study ( MMEIRS) came out some years back.

“We started building an armory of vehicles, equipment and others that could be deployed in response to the mass casualty incident that an earthquake of such magnitude would cause,” he added.

The PRC acquired ambulances, rescue trucks, blood mobile, fire trucks, fork lifts, pay loaders, humvees, water tanker, generators, tower lights, water bladder, satellite phones, tents for temporary shelter, and portable comfort rooms.

Since hospitals would become jam- packed with patients in such eventuality, the PRC prepared emergency field hospitals that can cater to those who could no longer be accommodated in hospital.

Gordon also gave assurance that the PRC has highly trained and skilled staff and volunteers who can operate different rescue vehicles and function as crew.

He said that PRC’s deployment of several teams to earthquake-hit Nepal served as a drill for members of the emergency response unit and medical team. –