Lamitan City lauded for disaster risk reduction, management

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The capital city of Basilan was again cited for having the best disaster risk reduction and management plan from among all local government units (LGUs) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

ARMM officials on Saturday told The STAR that Lamitan City Mayor Rose Furigay received last week the 2015 ARMM Regional Gawad Kalasag citation from representatives of the Civil Defense Office (OCD) covering the Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi (Basulta) area.

The Lamitan LGU also received a P50,000 check as special consolation accompanying the Gawad Kalasag award.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said he was delighted with Lamitan City’s having achieved such feat, the second in a span of two years.

The Lamitan City local government unit bagged the same award for two consecutive years for having ready-to-execute disaster mitigation plans and an emergency manpower pool prepared to deal with calamity or conflict situation in any of its 45 component-barangays anytime.

Lamitan City is the new capital of ARMM’s Basilan island province, which has 11 towns.

Ramil Masukat, operations director of the ARMM’s Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART), said the Lamitan City LGU deserved the award.

The HEART had responded to hundreds of emergency situations in different parts of the autonomous region in the past three years. The group is operating under the ministerial control of Hataman, who is chairman of the inter-agency regional peace and order council.

“By all indications, the Lamitan City LGU is prepared always to address calamities, conflicts, or any emergency situation in all four corners of the city,” Masukat said.