For a resilient Mambajao, the Department of Science and Technology, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and the local government unit of Mambajao organize a three-day capacity building for disaster management, and the basic incident command system (ICS) focused on the emergency operations center (EOC).
The three-day training occurred in the Operations Center Building in Mambajao, Camiguin on February 21 – 23, 2024. The training is a response to the integration of the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (MoCCoV) into the Municipality’s disaster management.
One of the trainers, Ms. Raquel Ranara, emphasized the importance of the training for disaster preparedness and resilience which allows better anticipation and better planning to reduce disaster losses.
“We need to train and capacitate stakeholders to understand what we will do in times of disasters and incidents”, she said.
An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a physical location where key stakeholders and agencies involved in a disaster response gather to share information, plan strategies, allocate resources, and monitor the situation. It can be activated at different levels such as local, regional, or national depending on the complexity of the disaster.
Ms. Marlyn Trozo, speaker from the Office of the Civil Defense highlighted in the training the features between an ICS and EOC. She said that there are differences and similarities between ICS and EOC, and both systems are interfaced.
“Both the ICS and EOC effectively complement each other by using the force-provider and force-employer relationship. The Incident Command System, as the force employer, is used to manage on-scene response while the Emergency Operations Center is the force providers that act as supporters to the Incident Management Team.” she added.
Delegates from the LGU’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Camiguin Electric Cooperative (CAMELCO), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and DOST – PSTO Camiguin attended the training with 36 total attendees.
The training course aimed to develop the knowledge, attitude, and skills required in the effective operationalization and management of an EOC.
The facilitators highlighted the concepts, communication essentials, information management, and planning process and described the approaches to ensuring the readiness of the EOC.
Mayor of LGU Mambajao, Hon. Yñigo Jesus D. Romualdo, in his speech, pointed out the importance of leveraging modern technology for organized, efficient, and fast disaster management.
“I want to maximize the use of technology where every information is centralized into one system to make an organized and fast response to an incident,” he said. He also stressed the significance of the training for all personnel to be well-versed in their work.
Congressman Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo agrees with the importance of operations and communications in the island. In his speech, “We are an island, we need to prioritize communications especially the internet to support the operations in the occurrence of a disaster,” he further emphasized the need for communication in times of disaster.
Moreover, the training featured the importance of integrating technology in enhancing disaster management and response. Technology enables effective communication during crises and enables collaboration and problem-solving in a before, during, and after a disaster. (Engr. George Pio Aclan/ DOST-PSTO Camiguin)
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About DOST-10
The Department of Science and Technology – Region 10 (DOST 10) envisions to be an effective and competent catalyst of inclusive development by providing world-class and innovative Science & Technology services in Region 10.
