Maasin town observes LGU Days

MAASIN CITY -- The local government unit (LGU) of Saint Bernard celebrated its LGU Days in a new and significant manner contrary to the usual celebration conducted years back, a tourism official said.

Jane Araneta, municipal tourism officer, said that in its advocacy and commitment to make the town and its constituents resilient to disasters and also with the local tourism development, the local government took the lead in undertaking the relevant activities with its theme: "Saint Bernard is Ready, Adventourism, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)."

Araneta said activities such as basic first aid, rope rescue, mountain search and training and exercises on incidental command system were part of the three-day activity.

The competing groups were also challenged to win in various events, which cover both DRR activities and adventure in tourism like rappelling, water and land rescue, race, trekking, hiking, caving, boating, diving and swimming in different tourism areas of the town, Araneta added.

All municipal employees including elected officials, department heads, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were divided into five groups, namely the tsunami, flood, landslide, typhoon and the earthquake group.

Each group was given their own three-day budget for expenses in survival like water, shelter, fuel, among others, living only in tents at designated evacuation centers, Araneta reported.

The celebration of the LGU Days is part of the implementation of the national program through the Human Resources Development Office or the Career Development Program, Araneta said.

In addition to the allocated local budget for the LGU Days, the local budget was able to secure assistance from the GTZ (German Technical Cooperation) to support various expenses relative to operations, training and advocacy, Araneta added. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)