OCD, Army strengthen ties in earthquake response

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Philippine Army (PA) have strengthened their collaboration on disaster response, especially for earthquakes.

Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, PA commanding general, promised in a meeting held Friday at the PA headquarters in Fort Bonifacio to make the 525th Engineer Combat Battalion of the 51st Engineer Brigade readily available when needed and activated during calamities.

In addition to the deployment of the Special Disaster Response Unit, the Army will also assist the OCD in training local government units (LGUs) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) on Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue operations.

“The target is to train thousands of reliable BFP responders, reserve forces and civilian volunteers to be able to form highly skilled and equipped rescue units against any earthquake threat,” said OCD administrator Ariel Nepomuceno.

Nepomuceno is also the concurrent executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and an undersecretary of the Department of National Defense.

With the overall support of multiple agencies and the LGUs, Nepomuceno is confident that the efforts will be at par with global standards, including that of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group.