World-class evacuation center opens in Tacloban

The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), an organization focused on disaster management cochaired by Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT and Metro Pacific, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, chairman and CEO of Ayala Corporation and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (Umcor) recently opened a world-class, two-story evacuation center at the San Jose Central Elementary School in Tacloban, Leyte which lost 120 students during Super Typhoon Yolanda. The center, the second built by both groups and the fifth built by Umcor, is self-sufficient and features a water reservoir, its own generator set, a ramp for the disabled, shutters for the windows, a lactating room, separate toilet facilities for men and women and a community kitchen. It can accommodate up to 400 people. “We would like this evacuation center to serve as a model and we challenge the people of San Jose to take care of and maintain this facility,” said Pastor Jack Amick, Umcor’s assistant general for International Response and Risk Reduction. The community accepted the challenge, with Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez pledging funds for the upkeep of the center. “We hope this place will be a safe haven during future storms,” said PDRF president Butch Meily. He also thanked Umcor for its generosity. Sixth Grade students including members of the school’s band, lacrosse team and dance troupe participated in the center’s inauguration. Also present were many parents and teachers who had lost children during Yolanda. PDRF is one of the country’s major private sector vehicles and coordinators for disaster preparedness and recovery. Umcor works to help suffering people in Iraq, Sudan, Haiti and other countries.