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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Gearing for major quake: DOH bares quadrants for 'The Big One' response

Gearing for major quake: DOH bares quadrants for 'The Big One' response

Published Oct 14, 2025 04:56 pm
(PHOTO: PIXABAY)
(PHOTO: PIXABAY)
The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, Oct. 14, presented the designated quadrants and hospitals across Metro Manila that will lead the government’s emergency health response should a major earthquake, referred to as “The Big One”, strike the National Capital Region (NCR).
In recent weeks, the Philippines has been struck by several major earthquakes affecting different parts of the country.
DOH and representatives from some of its hospitals presented their emergency response and contingency plans in case a major earthquake strikes in a press briefing in Caloocan City.
Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said the agency has mapped Metro Manila into four quadrants- - -North, East, West, and South- - -to ensure an organized and rapid medical response during large-scale disasters.
“Regions are supposed to support the other regions, hospitals will support other hospitals (Regions are supposed to back each other, hospitals will also support other hospitals),” Herbosa said.
He explained that the quadrant setup will allow nearby DOH hospitals to back up other medical facilities that may be overwhelmed or damaged in the event of a catastrophic earthquake.
Quadrants in Metro Manila:
North Quadrant 
• Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium
• San Lorenzo Ruiz Women’s Hospital
• Valenzuela Medical Center
• East Avenue Medical Center
• National Children’s Hospital
• Philippine Orthopedic Center
• Quirino Memorial Medical Center
• Lung Center of the Philippines
• National Kidney and Transplant Institute
• Philippine Heart Center
• Philippine Children’s Medical Center
East Quadrant
• Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center
• Rizal Medical Center
West Quadrant 
• Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital
• National Center for Mental Health
• San Lazaro Hospital
• Tondo Medical Center
• Dr. Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center
South Quadrant
• Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM)
• Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center
Emergency responders
The DOH chief stressed that health workers must first ensure their families’ safety before reporting for duty, saying responders cannot perform effectively if they are preoccupied with their loved ones’ welfare during a major earthquake.
The health department, he said, implements mandatory rest periods for responders to prevent burnout and ensure continuous operations during crises.
“When you start to see that among our team members, we mandate a mandatory rest period, we actually put them aside and tell them to stop kasi they will become the victim (When we see those signs in our team, we impose a rest period and make them stop, because they could become the victims themselves),” he said.
“Sa emergency response 24 hours… pero tao tayo we are human beings and we have limits (Emergency response is 24/7… but we are human beings and we have limits),” he added.
Herbosa said government doctors and nurses remain emotionally resilient and ready to respond despite the daily challenges faced in the public health system.
“Those of us that are working in government alam natin ‘yan (we know that), we work long hours we don’t have overtime pay but we work long hours… they are emotionally resilient because if they weren’t, they would have quit a long time [ago] and gone to the private sector,” he said.

Related Tags

DOH The Big One earthquake disaster response DOH Secretary Sonny Angara
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