A total of 404 people from the National Capital Region and other parts of Luzon have been trained to improve the local government unit's response on incidents of flooding.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the Flood Incident Response Safety Training (F.I.R.S.T.) were attended by representatives from National Capital Region, Southern Police District-Taguig City, and Metro Bataan Development Authority participated in the training held in the following areas: Ternate, Cavite; San Rafael, Bulacan; and Mariveles, Bataan.
"The training aims to capacitate the local government units in the metropolis as well as the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (BRRMC) in responding to emergency incidents like flooding," said MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos.
“One of the natural hazards affecting Metro Manila is flooding. Henceforth, we have to intensify the capability of our first responders, who are at the forefront during extreme emergencies, and further improve our disaster response efforts,” he added.
The program, led by MMDA’s Metropolitan Public Safety Office (MPSO) headed by lawyer Victor Pablo Trinidad, trained the participants on water safety, rubber boat operations, rubber boat handling and operation, among others.
F.I.R.S.T. training also involves practical exercises such as land portage carry, simple reach and rescue, capsizing and recovery, maneuvering of rubber boat with outboard of motor, and rigging and knot tying.
Abalos said there will be another training to be conducted in the first quarter of 2022, dubbed as ELSAROC (Earthquake, Landslide, Search and Rescue Orientation Course).