The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC)-Region 4-A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon area) is gearing up for the Holy Week or “Semana Santa.”
RDRRMC 4-A chairperson and Office of the Civil Defense 4-A Director Maria Theresa Escolano has issued Memorandum Order No. 47, Series of 2023, implementing emergency preparedness and response protocols for the Holy Week 2023.
Escolano said that based on the RDRRMC’s pre-disaster risk assessment core and analyst group which convened online recently, the annual observance of the Holy Week contributes to an overall anticipated increase in the volume of people traveling in the region and an opportune time for tourist activities.
She added that this high-density population gathering increases the vulnerability of the general public to natural or human-induced hazards that might trigger disaster events.
With this and after a thorough discussion of the possible occurrence of human-induced hazards that might happen on the said week-long observance, the emergency preparedness and response protocol is raised to alpha, she added.
Under alpha protocol, among others, the Office of Civil Defense in Calabarzon is mandated to initiate pre-disaster risk assessment and other emergency meetings as needed and direct DRRMC member-agencies to anticipate response to any eventuality.
The Regional Response Cluster headed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Calabarzon is expected to undertake resource inventory, conduct situation monitoring, and respond to requests for assistance and augmentation following coordination protocols, Escolano said.
The operations center alert status has been raised to blue to monitor the situation.
The order was addressed to the chairpersons of the provincial, municipal, and city disaster risk reduction management councils in Calabarzon and Lucena City.