The City Government of Victorias inaugurated the P55 million modernized Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center in the Sidlak Victorias Global City, March 14.
The ceremony, led by Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, was graced by the Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and Asec. Elizabeth Lopez-De Leon.
This infrastructure project boasts a fully-equipped disaster operation center with a telephone communication system for centralized emergency hotlines and advanced surveillance technology with IOT equipment such as rainfall gauges, proximity, and pressure sensors.
The center also features the Sidlak Victorias Media Production Center where the soon-to-air 88.9 community radio station will be housed.
This media production center will be the heart of the city’s communication, information, and promotion services.
“Our Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center is a testament to our continued collective effort in building a stronger community that stands true to its name as “Sidlak sang Kadalag-an” and the cradle of excellence where the brilliance of hope shines through,” Benitez said in his message.
The mayor expressed his gratitude to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for collaborating with the LGU and granting the Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance to Local Government Units (LGSF-FALGU) which funded the said infrastructure project.
“Once a dream of every Victoriahanon, now a reality,” Benitez emphasized the vital role of the City Command and Evacuation Center in the city’s enduring vision of creating a smart and resilient Victorias City.
Among notable features of the center are the 186 CCTVs that are strategically installed in various schools, establishments, and barangays in the city which effectively monitor public safety.
Hence, the mayor said the LGU commits to maximizing the full potential of the state-of-the-art facility, maintaining its services, and turning it to be a model of how an evacuation center should be.
Furthermore, he affirmed that the center will not only be open to Victoriahanons but also to neighboring towns and cities that will need temporary shelter in the face of calamities.
The Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center was constructed for six months, from May 2023 to December of the same year.
Bureau of Local Government Supervision Director Debie Torres, CESO IV, DILG Region VI Director Juan Jovian Ingeniero, CESO IV, DILG Provincial Director Teodora Sumagaysay, and distinguished personalities from other National Government Agencies such as Office of the Civil Defense, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Department of Trade and Industry joined the blessing and inauguration ceremony. (PR)