The Caloocan City government announced on Thursday, May 25, that it has deployed 12 new emergency, disaster, and delivery vehicles for a much quicker and effective disaster response in the city.
In a statement, Mayor Dale Gonzalo "Along" Malapitan emphasized the importance of being prepared during disasters, the availability of emergency vehicles, and proper rescue equipment and training pf personnel.
"Mahirap umaksyon tuwing may sakuna kung walang sasakyan na magagamit kaya sabi ko, kung gusto natin na maging isa sa mga nangunguna pagdating sa disaster response ang ating siyudad, kailangan may sapat na ambulansya at rescue vehicles na magagamit. Pauna pa lang ito, marami pa tayong bibilhing gamit at maging ang mga rescuers natin, titiyakin natin na may angkop silang kaalaman at kakayahan para sa trabaho nila (It is difficult to take action whenever there is a disaster if there are no vehicles available, so I say, if we want our city to be one of the leaders when it comes to disaster response, there must be enough ambulances and rescue vehicles available. This is just the beginning, we will buy more equipment and even our rescuers, we will make sure that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills for their work),” the mayor said.
The city government deployed the 10 ambulances, two Special Rescue Vehicles (SRV), and a delivery truck after they were blessed during a ceremony on Monday, May 22.
Malapitan also instructed the Caloocan Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) to standardize a five to eight-minute response time to any emergency situation in the city.
(Photo from Caloocan City Public Information Office/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The city government also recently unveiled its centralized 24/7 emergency hotline and its new Alert and Monitoring Operations Center located in various strategic places in the city.
CDRRMO Officer-in-Charge Dr. James Lao also said that the city has an ongoing preparation for the possible effects of Typhoon Mawar (will be locally known as Betty) in Metro Manila.
On Friday, May 26, Malapitan met with concerned city departments to discuss preparations including deployment of disaster response equipment for the expected entry of the typhoon into the country.
"Mayor Along already ordered the CDRRMO and other city departments to be alert in weather monitoring and in implementing the necessary measures to ensure the safety of our constituents," said Dr. Lao.