The string of tropical cyclones that hit Cagayan Valley in 2024 has prompted the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to evaluate the provisions in its “Operation L!STO program’’ to ensure that the localities are more prepared to deal with impending natural or man-made disasters.
DILG Cagayan Valley Director Agnes de Leon said the urgency of improving the region’s “L!STO team's performances before and during critical post-disaster periods.’’
She said the DILG field officers need to be fully utilized being “the primary source of data and information through a proactive and swift reporting system in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Dubbed as the “Leveraging Initiatives and Strategies on the Technical Operations (LISTO) of DRR-CCA in Region 2,” the recent two-day activity aims to assess capacity and performance of the “Operation L!STO and EOC of the regional and provincial offices to strengthen areas of attention based from the result of the assessment.’’
In the event, the DILG said that a simulation exercise (SIMEX) allowed the participants to navigate and explore the features of the enhanced DORMS and revealed certain issues in the system that need adjustments or fine-tuning.
DILG Region 2 Assistant Director Elpidio Durwin stressed “the ever-growing importance of vigilance’’ in times of calamities and the mandate of the department to assist the local government units (LGUs) in times of disasters.
Since the 2014 inception of “Operation L!STO,’’ DILG Cagayan Valley Office remains committed in reinforcing and strengthening the disaster preparedness of LGUs, taking advantage of the period when there are no active threats from natural hazards to focus on preparedness and mitigation strategies.