THE province of Misamis Oriental is now ready in case calamities strike, its Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano said Wednesday.
Plans have been carried out by the Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (DRRMC) of Misamis Oriental to mitigate and prevent onslaught of any catastrophes from hitting the province.
Emano sees it necessary to make plans ahead for the preservation of the lives and properties of affected communities.
"We will be able to mobilize dump trucks. We already have a memorandum of agreement with private contractors that they may be able to have used their dump trucks during calamities. The department heads already have their own area of responsibility," Emano said.
According to Ana Cañeda, regional director of the Office of the Civil Defense-Northern Mindanao (OCD 10), P70 million has been allotted for the campaign on disaster preparation.
Each municipality and barangay has a separate five percent share from the total budget of the province, Cañeda said.
"Before, response-oriented ang action sa probinsya. This time proactive ang focus sa fund like disaster prevention and preparedness kay mas effective siya," she added.
This commitment of the province seeks the cooperation of the local government units—both municipal and barangay levels—in order to succeed.
Aside from dump trucks, communication was one of the major setbacks when Typhoon Sendong struck Cagayan de Oro City in 2011. Emano said the two-way VHF radio is a solution to this setback.
"We [already purchased] radios. In case na ma-bog down and atong mga telepono, etc., alternative namo magbalik ‘mi sa radio," Emano said.
Radio repeaters have already been set up in towns of Barangay Sipaca in Talisayan and Laguindingan which will help boost weak or low-level signal and can cover long distance.
In terms of basic needs, Emano added that every hospital has been augmented with food supply.
"There are 324 barangays in the province. Kung magdungan-dungan [ang disaster sa tanang barangay] we will never be able to answer our needs," Emano furthered.
However, he urged municipal and barangay officials to ask for assistance when they need help and set aside political differences.
As the two-day disaster summit in the province closed on Wednesday, the local government units in the province vowed to commit on the disaster preparedness.