The Pasig City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) underwent a three-day training seminar from March 29 to 31 to further improve its conduct of emergency services to the public. The DRRMC, composed of officials from various departments and offices in the local government, was trained on the Basic Incident Command System (ICS), which pertains to the protocols and mechanisms to be initiated and followed in response to disasters or emergencies. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the ICS is a “ standardized, on-scene, all-hazard incident management concept that allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.” The ICS enables coordination of different departments and offices in terms of similar operating procedures for personnel and equipment deployment, mobilization and communication. The council is duty-bound to lead preparations and responses to any sort of incident that may occur in the city such as typhoons, earthquakes, and fires. They are also responsible for monitoring and managing “high density-crowd activities” such as the Bambino Festival or Paskotitap festivities where accidents may occur in spots where hundreds of people will flock. (PASIG PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
The sessions aimed to further educate and inform DRRMC members on the ICS, and ensure each member is able to efficiently and effectively implement the ICS when it is activated. The training sessions were led by the Pasig DRRM Office - Training Division, the Office of Civil Defense - National Capital Region (OCD-NCR) and the ICS Cadre. The ICS National Cadre is composed of individuals from local and national government bodies who have “successfully underwent the National Training of Trainers on Incident Command System, didactic and practicum,” as per the NDRRMC. Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto graced one of the sessions to lend his support to the training facilitators and participants.