THE Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR) will continue to strengthen its disaster resiliency initiatives to ensure the application of effective measures during calamities and disasters.
In the observance of the Police Community Relations (PCR) Month at Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet, PRO-COR-PCR Chief Police Colonel Dave Limmong said with the region being hit by disaster last year, there is a need to strengthen the information campaign to prevent Cordilleran’s from becoming victims of disasters.
“Our information campaign deals with how we can prevent and avoid people from being victims of impending disasters. Part of our preparation is the recent conduct of our earthquake drill or the National Simulated Earthquake Drill where schools participated, the preparation of the readiness of our personnel wherein we account our search and rescue personnel and their equipment region wide, aside from proper coordination in the provinces and municipalities because its the Police who normally arrives first,” Limmong said.
Limong added the mission of the PCR is to develop, guide and steer a “community and service oriented” police organization in forging relationship with, informing, persuading, shaping perception of, and mobilizing the communities towards the need for respect for laws, maintenance of peace and orderliness, and safety of environment.
This aside from envisioning the evolution of Police Units and Police Officers into a “community and service” oriented organization working in partnership with a cooperative community towards a peaceful, orderly and harmonious community interactions particularly in times of disasters or calamities.
“We have trained personnel on search and rescue who are assigned in the different parts of the region which we are accounting, and what we want to do is for them to be organized so that during disasters, they are prepared to be the first team. But our trained personnel have various trainings through the help of the Office of the Civil Defense, the Red Cross among others. Like for example, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation or CPR courses which are integrated in our basic course which they can use during disasters if needed,” Limong said.
Aside from restoring public trust and confidence in the PNP, PCR also seeks to improve community participation and inter-agency coordination in support of police activities.
PCR also strengthens linkages with other pillars of the criminal justice system, other government agencies, and non-government organizations, and organize and mobilize sectoral organizations in support of police programs particularly on information education campaigns of the police especially during possible or impending disasters brought about by typhoons.