AROUND 800 running enthusiasts joined the “Run For Resiliency,” a free for all activity by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Burnham Park lake drive to spread awareness toward natural disasters and to commemorate the 1990 Luzon Earthquake which marked its 28th anniversary on July 16.
Participants are the different Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council agencies, universities, and the public although there no winners and no categories.
Ivy Frances Carasi, OCD-Cordillera information officer, said the “Run for Resiliency” event in Baguio City aims to commemorate the killer earthquake.
Carasi explained that residents in the city would see more relevance in the event because they had experienced in real life a major disaster—an intensity 7.7 earthquake at 4:26 p.m. of that fateful day.
“We want it to have an impact on the residents,” she said, adding that by doing it on the said date, people would be reminded of how they survived and eventually recovered from the losses and the devastation.
Resiliency under Executive Order (EO) 29-2017 is defined as the capacity to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster.
The Executive Order issued by President Rodrigo Duterte renamed the National Disaster Consciousness Month (NDCM), observed in the month of July, to National Disaster Resilience Month (NDRM) to shift the focus from disaster awareness building to capacitating the residents to become disaster-resilient.
Resilience starts with awareness on hazards and risks, which threaten the communities. However, people should also learn how to protect themselves from these hazards and risks, Carasi noted.
Runners traversed an estimate 2.5-kilometer route starting at Burnham Lake Drive and passing through Harrison Road, UP Drive, T.M. Kalaw, Session Road, Harrison Road, Jose Abad Santos Drive, and ultimately going back to the starting line.
Melchito Castro, OCD–CAR regional director discussed the plans of the government to strengthen its natural disaster management.
The event was also a part of National Disaster Resilience Month 2018 with a theme “Katatagan sa Kalamidad ay Makakamtan Kapag Sapat ang Kaalaman sa Kahandaan”. (Kyna Abigail Sobrevega/UP Baguio intern)