Muntinlupa passes school disaster preparedness training ordinance
The Muntinlupa City government has approved an ordinance establishing a school-based disaster preparedness training program.
City Ordinance 2023-094, passed by the City Council, was signed by Mayor Ruffy Biazon on July 10.
Earthquake drill at the Muntinlupa City hall last June (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)
Under the local law, the education sector, all levels of public and private schools, in all barangays in Muntinlupa will participate in the program. All public and private basic education schools in Muntinlupa are tasked to “to provide their students with basic life support training through the use of psychomotor training in an age-appropriate manner. “The instruction shall include programs which have been developed by the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) or Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) using nationally-recognized, evidence-based guidelines for emergency cardiovascular care, and psychomotor training, to support the instruction. As far as practicable, basic education schools shall incorporate basic life support training as part of the schools' comprehensive health and physical education curriculum,” according to the ordinance. Basic life support “refers to a set of emergency procedures that consists of recognizing respiratory or cardiac arrest and proper application of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) with or without Automated External Defibrillation (AED), Foreign Body Airway Obstruction Management (FBAOM), and Rescue Breathing (RB) to maintain life until a victim recovers or advanced life support is available." Higher education students, meanwhile, will “be trained in Disaster Preparedness which includes but not limited to Basic Life Support, First Aid, and Triage. The training program may be integrated in the National Service Training Program (NSTP), Physical Education (PE), or other relevant courses in the school curricula.” All successful student-trainees will be given certification that they have undergone the training required by a competent authority. Exempted from the basic life support training program are students “suffering from any physical or mental disability which may render them unable to perform a basic life support procedure.” “To prepare schools and its complement students/pupils in events of disaster/s, a mandatory emergency drill of at least once (1) a year shall be implemented,” the ordinance mandated.
Earthquake drill at the Muntinlupa City hall last June (Photo from Muntinlupa PIO)
Under the local law, the education sector, all levels of public and private schools, in all barangays in Muntinlupa will participate in the program. All public and private basic education schools in Muntinlupa are tasked to “to provide their students with basic life support training through the use of psychomotor training in an age-appropriate manner. “The instruction shall include programs which have been developed by the Philippine Heart Association (PHA) or Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) using nationally-recognized, evidence-based guidelines for emergency cardiovascular care, and psychomotor training, to support the instruction. As far as practicable, basic education schools shall incorporate basic life support training as part of the schools' comprehensive health and physical education curriculum,” according to the ordinance. Basic life support “refers to a set of emergency procedures that consists of recognizing respiratory or cardiac arrest and proper application of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) with or without Automated External Defibrillation (AED), Foreign Body Airway Obstruction Management (FBAOM), and Rescue Breathing (RB) to maintain life until a victim recovers or advanced life support is available." Higher education students, meanwhile, will “be trained in Disaster Preparedness which includes but not limited to Basic Life Support, First Aid, and Triage. The training program may be integrated in the National Service Training Program (NSTP), Physical Education (PE), or other relevant courses in the school curricula.” All successful student-trainees will be given certification that they have undergone the training required by a competent authority. Exempted from the basic life support training program are students “suffering from any physical or mental disability which may render them unable to perform a basic life support procedure.” “To prepare schools and its complement students/pupils in events of disaster/s, a mandatory emergency drill of at least once (1) a year shall be implemented,” the ordinance mandated.