Cebu City Council moves to establish brgy alarm system

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City Council is urging the city’s 80 barangays to establish a Barangay Alarm System (BAS) for immediate dissemination of any disaster-related information for all the barangay residents.

This came after the proposed resolution of Councilor Jocelyn Pesquera was approved by the other members of the city council during last Tuesday’s scheduled session.

Pesquera drafted this legislation so the public can be updated about disaster-related information through the use of communication devices that could accommodate a wide range of audience, and not limited to loud speakers or sirens.

“In cases of emergency, it will be easy for the residents to be notified. Also, in case there’s emergency in individual homes, the barangay hall will be easily notified,” Pesquera told The FREEMAN.

She added that, as local officials, they have to ensure that barangay units have the capability to disseminate reliable information to their constituents.

During the session, Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña asked the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) to come up with guidelines for the establishment of the BAS.

ABC President and Tisa barangay captain Phillip Zafra told The FREEMAN that establishing BAS in every barangay in the city is helpful.

"It's indeed very essential in emergency response and such other similar instances. We fully support its creation. In fact that's the direction that we want to take. It's just that we lack the necessary resources for now. But definitely we will have it established in every barangay," he said.

In a separate interview, ABC Vice President and Apas village chief Ramil Ayuman said that his barangay had already established their own alarm system a year ago.

He said that the alarm system is useful for informing residents about important matters and the duration of dissemination process was really quick as they announce these information through speakers installed in different locations.

He added that in Barangay Apas, they already have a number of closed-circuit television devices with speakers installed in some areas and used for monitoring purposes.

Ayuman also said that aside from Barangay Apas, some other barangays have already installed their own alarm system. He mentioned that Barangays Suba and Paril as among barangays that already have their BAS, though he could not say exactly how many others there are. —/JBB (FREEMAN)