Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez led the blessing and inauguration of the P59 million Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center on Thursday, March 14, located at Barangay 13, Victorias City.
"As we continue to realize this vision and as part of our enduring dream to build a smart and resilient Victorias city, we began the construction of our Victorias City command and evacuation center, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for disaster management and emergency response,” Benitez said.
He added that the center boasts a fully-equipped disaster operations center that has a telephone communication system that shall augment centralized emergency hotlines, advanced surveillance technology, IT equipment such as rainfall gauges, proximity, and pressure sensors, and various disaster management equipment," Benitez said.
The construction of the evacuation center started in May 2023 and was completed in December of the same year. It is funded by the national government, Benitez also said.
"On top of this, the Sidlak Victorias Media Production Center will be housed here in our city command and evacuation center.
This will be the heart of our city’s communication, information, and promotion services with our soon-to-air 88.9 kHz community radio station," he said.
The center, Benitez further said, is part of the 25-hectare Sidlak Victorias Global City where he plans to build a new city hall and other city government buildings and facilities including a housing project.*