Sunday, October 21, 2007 Police creates medical team for calamities
A MEDICAL team made up of personnel from the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has been created to respond when calamities, such as floods, occur in the city.
Last Wednesday, 30 police personnel, most of them with medical-related degrees, graduated from a three-day seminar on basic search and rescue and first-aid applications.
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said the team will serve as the core group. They are expected to share their skills with other police personnel in their stations and units.
The task of the members of the medical team, Comendador said, is on top of their daily duties and responsibilities.
Included in the tasks, Comendador said, is providing first aid to policemen who suffer minor injuries while responding to an alarm.
Comendador’s idea of organizing a police medical team came up after several floods last month that left two people, including a two-year-old boy, dead.
This way, Comendador said, the CCPO will be self-reliant, considering that in most cases police are the first to arrive whenever incidents happen.
Last Sept. 12, 71-year-old Conchita Lanotan was praying inside her room when she was swept away by floodwaters in Santa Lucia, Guadalupe.
She was carried away along with the walls of her hut and fell into the river.
Lanotan’s body was found a day after in Canjulao, Lapu-Lapu City.
Three days later, a strong current also carried away two-year-old Brandon Jay Ceballos into an open manhole on Clavano St., Capitol Site. His body was also found in Lapu-Lapu.
Comendador said he realized the need for the team during the annual general inspection last month, where the CCPO had to wait for a medical team from the regional office. (JST)
