Give barangay disaster teams medicines: councilors

THE Mandaue City Council wants the barangays to provide their disaster brigades with over-the-counter medicines.

In a resolution approved last Wednesday, the City Council requested the barangays to appropriate funds for medicines that their disaster brigades can use during first aid.

Earlier, Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation director Jesus Rabanes requested the City Council to persuade barangay leaders to include the purchase of commonly used medicines in the barangay’s budget.

The City Government and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation (Eruf) recently organized disaster preparedness trainings for the city’s 27 barangays.

To take advantage of the knowledge gained during the trainings, barangays should equip their disaster brigades with the needed paraphernalia and medicines, read the resolution.

Resolution

Each barangay disaster brigade has a first aid team that needs a supply of medicines, the resolution said.

Councilor Diosdado Suico sponsored the resolution.

Last year, Mayor Jonas Cortes activated the City Disaster Brigade and ordered the training of barangay tanods in disaster preparedness.

The brigade, composed of city employees and national agencies’ personnel, is tasked to respond to disasters, and undertake pre- and post-disaster activities.

Training

The City Government has allocated a portion of its calamity fund for the training of civilians who want to join the city’s disaster brigade.

Earlier, Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government issued a circular that prohibits local government units from using 70 percent of their calamity fund if they do not have the Seal of Disaster Preparedness.

To obtain the seal, a local government unit must have a functioning local disaster risk reduction and management council, and an approved disaster preparedness plan.