THE new station aims to bring emergency medical and rescue services closer to residents in remote communities of Paquibato District.
The Davao City government, through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), broke ground on Sept. 15 for a Central 911 satellite station in Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District.
The station will house a fire truck and an ambulance, bringing emergency medical and rescue services closer to residents in remote and geographically isolated communities.
Ret. P/Lt. Col. Alfredo Baloran, CDRRMO head, said the project will help cut response times for emergencies in Malabog and nearby areas.
“Ang pinaka objective man gud nato ani ngano’ng nagtukod ta og mga ingon ani nga satellite stations is kinahanglan g’yud nato nga ipaduol ang atoang services sa komunidad and kinahanglan g’yud siya kay ang emergency medical response is very essential g’yud na siya kay kung maggikan pa sa city proper, sa atoang central office ang responde nga mga emergency medical responders, ang atoang equipment, ang atoang ambulance it will take more than an hour bago maabot dinhi sa Barangay Malabog so taas kaayo ang gap gikan sa pagtawag hangtod maabot (The main objective of establishing these satellite stations is to bring our services closer to the community. Emergency medical response is essential because if responders, equipment, and ambulances have to come from the city proper or central office, it can take more than an hour to reach Barangay Malabog. The gap between the call and arrival is too long)," Baloran said in an interview.
Baloran said establishing satellite stations outside the city center is among the priority projects of Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
“One of the fulfillment sa priority project sa atoang halangdo’ng mayor na kining pagserbisyo sa komunidad ilabi na gyud sa kadtong mga kaigsuonan nato nga naa sa mga outskirt nga dili kaayo sila maka access sa downtown area. Kinahanglan nga kita ang mupaduol sa ilaha (This fulfills one of the mayor’s priority projects — bringing services closer to communities, especially our brothers and sisters living on the outskirts who have limited access to the downtown area. We need to bring the services to them)," he said.
In a message read by Baloran, Duterte said the city must continue strengthening disaster risk reduction and management through risk assessments, prevention and preparedness measures, and mitigation and response strategies.
“With Davao City covering a wide land area, it is important that we expand our services to those in remote geographically isolated communities in the city,” Duterte said.
He said the Malabog station will help improve Central 911’s mobility, accessibility, and efficiency while extending medical and rescue services to communities in Paquibato and nearby areas.
Residents welcomed the project, which is expected to open early next year.
“Dako g’yud kaayo mi’g kalipay labi na nga diri g’yud ko gianak sa Malabog nakita g’yud nako nga sa una lisod kaayo paglugsong namo, ang pasiyente mamatay gyud kung malayo ang biyahe. Nakita namo sa dakong tabang sa amoang barangay … ug kay City Mayor Baste Duterte sa paghatag niya sa amoa ani nga dako kaayo’ng tabang sa Barangay Malabog (We are very happy, especially since I was born here in Malabog. I saw how difficult it was for us before to travel down, and patients could die because of the long journey. This will be a great help to our barangay, and we thank City Mayor Baste Duterte for giving us this station)," resident Imelda Overiz said.
The Malabog facility will be the fifth Central 911 satellite station in Davao City. Other substations operate in Barangay Baganihan, Toril, Indangan, and Calinan.
The CDRRMO plans to establish more satellite stations across the city to improve emergency medical response and rescue services for Dabawenyos. CIO
