Cebu province wants to disaster-proof tourism activities

TOURISTS coming to Cebu will get extra protection through the Oplan: Bantay Turista project initiated by the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

PDRRMO head Baltazar Tribunalo said they provided Rapid Damage Needs Assessment (RDNA) training to local government personnel to ensure they are prepared to respond to incidents involving tourists visiting the towns and cities in the province.

“We are trying to disaster-proof tourism activities. If we can’t make it disaster proof, at least there is mitigation and at the same time risk reduction,” he said.

He also said that they created Incident Command System (ICS), in which the Philippine National Police (PNP) Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Emergency Response – Search and Rescue (ER–SAR) Team of every local government unit (LGU), Logistics team and some private sectors are part of the responders when an incident arises.

“These address emerging concerns in each emergency or disaster in tourism or any sector,” he said in a text message.

ICS is headed by Responsible Official (RO), who is either the governor or the highest available official, he said. Under the RO is the Incident Commander who leads the different task groups.

Tribunalo said they have also provided orientation for the local guides from every LGUs to become responders themselves.

The Provincial Tourism Office (PTO), on the other hand, will set up tourism information centers to all tourist destinations in the province.

PTO head Joselito “Boboi” Costas said they would be putting up information desks that would provide not just forex rates but also emergency hotline numbers for visitors to call.