COTABATO CITY—To keep up with the knowledge and skills, and increase efficiency in conducting immediate search and rescue operations during natural disasters, the Bangsamoro Government’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi) conducted its 6th batch of Water Search and Rescue (WASAR) training for Disaster Risk and Reduction Management (DRRM) personnel from Nov. 15-21 in the different BARMM provinces.
Disaster responders from the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur, including groups of practitioners attended the training held at 6 Division Training School, in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Minister of Interior and Local Government Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, who heads the READi, said many of the rescue team, during the onslaught of Tropical Storm Paeng in Maguindanao, were graduates of WASAR training.
Sinarimbo stressed that WASAR program has great significance to mitigate the impact of disaster and implement recovery measures to the affected areas.
“We continue to invest in our specialized training because we have proven this is very relevant in our experience with STS Paeng,” he said.
“Our quick setting up of our Emergency Operation Center (EOC) and the immediate reporting to our cluster’s EOC on October 28, was due to our previous training as well as the newly completed training on EOC management,” the Minister added.
Further, the 7-day WASAR training provided the participants with basic swimming, proper rescue, knot-tying, basic survival swimming, scuba diving, basic life support, high-angle rescue, and firefighting, among others.
Since the local DRRM plays a vital role before, during, and after disasters over their constituents, READi also conducted another set of training on the Incident Command System (ICS) levels 1 to 4 to raise disaster awareness and strengthen the capacities of people involved in a response rescue operation.
“We hope that the learnings and the skills that they acquired here will prepare them better to manage any disaster that may hit their LGUs. Equally important is for them to build a network with their fellow trainees which will facilitate communication and coordination in times of disaster,” Sinarimbo said. (Johaira Sahidala/BIO)
