US ties up with PH gov't to enhance Cagayan town's disaster response capability
The United States government has partnered with the Philippine military and the provincial government of Cagayan in hosting a workshop that would enhance the town of Amulung’s capabilities and collaboration of civilian and military first responders during calamities.
The Cagayan Disaster Response Training-Paghahanda 1.24 workshop trained more than 70 local disaster response officials, military personnel, and humanitarian workers “to better understand each other’s roles in implementing humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) principles,” the US embassy in Manila said.
During the activity, the US Indo-Pacific Command’s Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM) provided course material and shared best practices on multistakeholder coordination in HADR.
The US Agency for International Development’s Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, meanwhile, briefed participants on the process of requesting US assistance during a disaster.
According to the embassy, the workshop culminated with an exercise where participants applied HADR principles through a simulated major disaster in areas near the two Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement locations.
“We are honored to support this Philippine government-led disaster response training that fostered the ongoing collaboration between the Philippines and the United States,” “CFE-DM Deputy Director Steve Castonguay said.
“Our shared commitment to resilience and preparedness and an increased understanding of each other’s roles and procedures are crucial in facing the challenges posed by natural disasters,” he added.