PDRRMO division head Neil Angelo Sanchez. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines— The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) will be on blue alert starting Friday, December 20, 2019, in time for the Christmas holiday break.
PDRRMO Chief Neil Angelo Sanchez said being on blue alert means their office will maintain skeletal forces that would be monitoring incidents throughout the holidays and who will be responding if emergencies will arise.
“There is a directive right now, not from the DILG but from General [Valeriano] de Leon of the PNP that during the holiday season, the LGUs should take lead in watching over vehicular accidents and fire cracker incidents. [That’s one thing we will focus on] that needs 24/7 monitoring,” Sanchez told CDN Digital.
Sanchez said he will also be deploying personnel in the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) for prompt response in case of any incident, considering that a surge of passengers who wish to spend the holidays in their hometowns is expected as Christmas Day draws near.
Aside from an emergency team that will respond to health cases, Sanchez said they will also help in preventing buses from overloading.
“We will prevent them from [overloading] in order to avoid vehicular accidents,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez added that the PDRRMO will also need to monitor natural hazards like landslides in the upland areas and flooding in the low-lying grounds.
Additional personnel
While there is no weather disturbance within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Sanchez said even the rains and thunderstorms brought by the easterlies may pose dangers of landslide and flooding in the high-risk areas.
Meanwhile, Sanchez said that he is already requesting the Office of the Governor to hire an additional 10 personnel for their office in order to continue with their 24/7 operations even after the holidays.
Sanchez said he already have a drafted list of former PDRRM employees that were already trained. He added that he prefer to hire those who have previously been with the PDRRMO since they are already trained and abreast of the workarounds of the department.
The additional 10 personnel may be employed through the Capitol’s manpower provider or by engaging them in casual or contractual employment terms.
“I have already consulted with the HR and all I need is to discuss this with the governor and get her approval. I am hopeful that she will be supportive of this,” Sanchez said.
The PDRRMO is under the Office of the Governor after it has been downgraded to a division through a reorganization ordinance last August 2019. /bmjo