NCotabato allots P16M for disaster response equipment

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – The office of Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza has earmarked P16 million for the acquisition of modern rescue and emergency equipment needed for its relief missions for calamities in the province.

The amount is intended for the procurement of six collapsible rubber boats with outboard engines, an aluminum-hull rescue boat with a 30-passenger capacity, and alarm systems for riverside villages in Alamada and Carmen towns.

Several North Cotabato towns had repeatedly been hit by flashfloods in recent months.

Thousands had also been dislocated by hostilities the past two months between the military and the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Mendoza, in an emailed statement, said they are also to continue honing the skills of members of rescue units in the province through trainings and by providing them with modern equipment they can use for their missions.

The provincial government already has a well-documented publication on its 'best practices and success stories' on humanitarian missions, that also outlined its preparedness to respond to emergencies.

North Cotabato’s Carmen town was repeatedly shaken by strong earthquakes last June, which damaged two bridges and more than a hundred houses and school buildings, but only about a dozen residents were slightly injured as a result of the high-level of safety awareness by local folks.

North Cotabato was a nominee to the national government’s 2013 Gawad Kalasag search for excellence in disaster response preparedness and humanitarian assistance.