Sen. Robinhood "Robin" C. Padilla reiterated on Wednesday, April 3 the need to prepare citizens to respond to calamities by undergoing military training.

Padilla mentioned this after the Philippines was included among areas that felt the effects of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan.

Speaking at the start of the Basic Citizen Military Course at the Senate, Padilla stressed that basic military training for citizens will prepare them not only for war, but for disaster response.

"Iba pa rin kung tayo mismo, trained, alam natin kung anong gagawin natin pag may emergency. Hindi lang ito usapin ng giyera... Itong ginagawa nating ito para sa kapayapaan at kaligtasan ng kapwa natin (It would be good if we were trained and knew what to do in an emergency. This is for the peace and safety of our fellow Filipinos)," he said.

On Wednesday morning, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) issued a tsunami warning for four areas in northern Luzon after Taiwan was hit by a powerful quake.

Also, Padilla pointed out to the Senate employees who took part in the training that the government's services cannot be disrupted by a calamity or emergency.

He thanked the Philippine Navy Naval Reserve Command under Maj. Gen. Joseph Ferrous Soriano Cuison for conducting the training.

"Ang kailangan natin matutunan ang ituturo sa atin paano ang may leader (at) may follower. Dito sa Pilipinas... kaunti ang follower, gusto lahat leader. Dito sa training natin malalaman natin sino ang leader natin, sino ang susundin natin, ano ang protocol natin para sa pagdating ng emergency. Alam natin ang chain of command. Hindi tayo nalilito, hindi tayo natataranta. Lahat tayo may say, lahat may papel, lahat kumikilos (We need to know the roles of leaders and followers. In the Philippines, there are too many people who want to be leaders. We should know who will lead, what the protocols are in an emergency. We must not be confused; instead, we all have roles to play in responding to a calamity)," he said.