OCD goal: Disaster tough communities

TAKING off from what the office had accomplished in 2012, the Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera (OCD-CAR) for this year, aims to strengthen its efforts in building resilient communities in line with its goal of attaining zero-casualties in times of calamity or disasters.

OCD-CAR OIC Regional Director Andrew Alex Uy disclosed that in 2012, their efforts were focused on strengthening the region’s Local Government Units’ (LGUs) preparedness measures in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) wherein capacity building activities were undertaken focusing on empowering local communities against disasters in view of the importance of LGUs as DRRM front-liners in their respective areas of responsibility.

Among the key accomplishments of OCD-CAR in 2012 was the development of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plans (LDRRMP) at the regional, provincial and down to the barangay level.

“Creating LDRRMPs were seen as an avenue to address issues and problems in the realms of DRRM that would lead to the interference of a certain community’s development. This is why we, at the OCD-CAR, organized a training team involving the Technical Working Group from the Cordillera Regional DRRM Council’s Vice Chairpersons which include the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for Prevention and Mitigation; the Department of Interior and Local Government for Preparedness; the Department of Social Welfare and Development for Response; and the National Economic and Development Agency for Recovery and Rehabilitation,” Uy explained.

Another major accomplishment that OCD-CAR reported was the Incident Command System (ICS) training of provincial LGUs, an activity that also aims to strengthen community resilience especially on how to properly respond during or after a disaster.(Carlito C. Dar)