(Updated) GOVERNMENT officials, workers, students and communities in Metro Manila took part in a drill on Thursday to prepare the country's capital region for a feared 7.2-magnitude earthquake.
People evacuated from buildings and schools as sirens go off for the one-hour exercise, which started at 10:30 a.m.
They covered their heads and ran to a safe area, soldiers conducted medical evacuation and firemen responded to a mock fire.
At the Supreme Court, some employees acted as victims who are unconscious, injured or dead following an "explosion" in a canteen.
Coast Guard personnel loaded the "victims" to a military ship docked at the port of Manila. The "injured" were then transferred to the ambulances near the Aseana City in Pasay City, the designated command post during the drill.
Air Force personnel rescued the "trapped" victims in high-rise buildings.
In Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Secretaries Voltaire Gazmin (Defense), Dinky Soliman (Social Welfare), Manuel Roxas II (Interior and Local Government), Joseph Emilio Abaya (Transportation and Communications) and Armed Forces chief Hernando Iriberri hid under a table while waiting for the "shaking" to subside.
Across the street from Camp Aguinaldo, employees and visitors in the Philippine National Police headquarters did the "drop, cover and hold" and went to the Transformation Oval in front of the grandstand which served as the evacuation center.
At least 5,000 individuals took part in the simulation which lasted 14 minutes.
“Pero kung ito talaga ay totoo siguro within five minutes (it's done). Hindi po tayo aabot ng 14 minutes or 17 minutes. Siguro within five minutes lahat po tayo makakapunta lahat (ng grandstand),” said Chief Superintendent Efren Perez, Directorate for Police Community Relations head.
Rescuers also responded to a Grade 6 pupil of the Camp Crame Elementary School who fainted for real. The student immediately received treatment at a clinic.
(Video by John Carlo Cahinhinan/Sunnex)
Personnel from the Department of Public Works and Highway conducted clearing operations so that motorcycle rescue units of the MMDA could reach areas not passable to four-wheel vehicles.
The open field of the Aseana City Business and Entertainment District was transformed into a gravesite where the casualties from the disaster were temporary buried to prevent the spread of various deadly diseases.
Fire trucks, ambulances and search and rescue teams meanwhile were dispatched to a shopping mall in Mandaluyong City to attend to the "affected" individuals while a command post in the evacuation area was set up.
Five people sustained "injuries" and were immediately brought to the nearest hospital.
"So far wala naman nakitang problema kanina pero we still have to collect all the documents later including the photos and videos to assess kung ano pa ang kailangan i-enhance," said Manny Miro of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Miro said SM Supermalls was quite prepared for the emergency drill as they do it every year.
SM supermalls vice president for operations Bien Mateo said the mall chain has tents, wheelchairs for senior citizens and person with disability, hard hats and other things needed for emergencies.
He said they also have several personnel who were trained to respond to any disaster.
Bea Carreon, a housekeeping employee at SM Megamall, found the drill "very important."
"Para alam ng tao kung anong gagawin, kasi pag alam mo kung anong gagawin mo nakakabawas ng takot sa tao at maiiwasan na may masaktan o mamatay," she said.
Carreon said they already discussed among her family members on what they will do if ever "The Big One" strikes.
"Napakahalaga ng ganitong mga pagsasanay dahil mas mabuti na 'yun na matuto na tayo na may alam tayo if ever darating ang ganitong situation," another participant, Maricris Apos, said.
A resident of Mandaluyong, Apog said her house lies along the West Valley Fault.
Other mall goers refused to participate in the simulated evacuation and rescue. Some people documented the drill by taking photos while others just observed what was happening.
"Hindi naman ako kasali dyan," Jonathan Aguindo, a passerby, said.
Aguindo said he already know how to "drop, cover and hold."
"Siyempre gusto sana natin lahat makiisa sa ginagawa natin na ito pero hindi naman natin mapipilit lahat," Miro said.
"We were tasked to transport possible survivors from the sea just in case hindi na madaanan ang mga kalsada lalo na sa Manila and other southern cities in Metro Manila na malapit sa Manila Bay," Commander Armando Balilo, Coast Guard Public Affairs chief, said.
The government has yet to release figures regarding the drill although organizers led by the MMDA had said they were expecting to draw six to seven million participants or half of the metropolis' population of more than 12 million.
Renato Solidum, who heads the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said that the West Valley Fault, which cuts across the capital and outlying provinces, could shift anytime based on its seismic history.
According to the 2004 Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, a 7.2-magnitude quake in Metro Manila could cause 33,500 deaths and 114,000 injuries from the tremor itself and additional 18,000 deaths from the fire that could break out.
The Philippines is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. It lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common.
A 7.7-magnitude quake killed nearly 2,000 people on the main northern Philippine island of Luzon in 1990. (Virgil Lopez/Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/John Carlo Cahinhinan/AP/Sunnex)