MASANTOL -- Members of a rescue team here are currently undergoing a five-day water search and rescue training or WASAR, being administered by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) headed by Angelina Blanco.
Blanco, a staunch advocate of disaster preparedness in Pampanga, stated that the activity is aimed at developing a rescue unit that is responsive to the needs of the people in any situation as may be brought natural calamities.
The PDRRMO chief noted that WASAR provides training from personal safety, survival, basic life saving, to rubber boat assembly and engine operation as well as navigation and maneuver rules.
Blanco noted after the training, the rescue unit is expected to be a more effective disaster responder in this coastal community.
"Running a rubber boat and rescuing a drowning victim are totally different," Blanco explained.
Masantol is among the municipalities in Pampanga considered as a disaster prone, flooding in particular.
With this, she opined that there is a need to empower every adult citizen here with life-saving skills.
"Siguro dapat isangkot din natin ang bawat pamilya sa disaster preparedness. Kailangan sila ang unang nakahanda sa anumang sakuna," Blanco explained.