Lanao del Sur towns trained on disaster response

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines - The disaster reaction skills of emergency teams in 13 Lanao del Sur towns have just been upgraded with a more advanced incident command system course, the provincial governor said Tuesday.

Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong said a group from his office and emergency teams from the 12 towns underwent an Integrated Planning Course on Incident Command System, which was handled by experts.

The September 1 to 6 training, held in Cagayan de Oro City, was administered by the Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The HEART, comprised of volunteers from different agencies in the autonomous region, is operating under the ministerial control of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman.

Adiong said representatives from the local provincial and municipal risk reduction and management councils attended the six-day disaster-preparedness and emergency response course.        

Members of disaster mitigation councils from Bacolod Kalawi, Bayang, Binidayan, Buadipuso Buntong, Ditsaan-Ramain, Lumba Bayabao, Lumbaca Unayan, Lumbatan, Marogong, Molondo, Piagapo, Saguiaran and Wao towns participated in the training. 

HEART officials said there are seven modules for their trainings, meant to capacitate local government units in responding to disasters and how to handle rescue and relief operations. 

The September 1 to 6 training in Cagayan De Oro City was the second from among seven modular levels.

“The objective of the course is to improve the capacity of local disaster risk reduction and management officers in managing emergency situations caused by conflicts and disasters,” said lawyer Kirby Abdullah, who is Hataman’s focal person for HEART’s operations in ARMM’s five provinces.

Adiong said the continuing technical support of HEART to Lanao del Sur’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) complements his administration’s efforts to sustain the emergency preparedness of local government units in the province.

Lanao del Sur covers 39 towns scattered in two congressional districts and Marawi City, the provincial capital.  

Tatar Boriongan, chief Lanao del Sur’s PDRRMC, said some of the participants to the training in Cagayan de Oro City were from LGUs in towns affected by the December 2013 typhoon Pablo that devastated parts of Northern Mindanao.

He said the training also provided them good insights on how to address emergency situations arising from clan wars involving big Maranaw families.

There is high prevalence of “rido” incidents in Lanao del Sur, a component province of ARMM. Rido is a generic term for clan war among most Southern ethno-linguistics groups.

“Our governor is focused on the settlement of still unresolved family feuds,” Boriongan said.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process had provided Lanao del Sur in 2014 a total of 11 public evacuation centers through its Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Pamana) Program.

The evacuation centers, resembling multi-purpose covered courts, were built in different Lanao del Sur towns affected by conflicts and calamities in years past.

Each of the centers constructed in the municipalities of Binidayan, Ganassi, Kapai, Lumbatan, Maguing, Malabang, Masiu, Tagoloan, Tamparan and Tugaya and in Marawi City costs P2.5 million.

“We are thankful to OPAPP for these 11 evacuation centers,” Adiong said.