The Department of Health (DOH) said it is fast-tracking the development of world-class emergency medical response teams across the country to prepare for large-scale disasters, including the “The Big One” earthquake which is feared to hit Metro Manila.
“The Big One” refers to the anticipated massive earthquake that could be triggered by the movement of the West Valley Fault, a major fault line that runs through the eastern part of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Following the deployment of the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Team (PEMAT) to earthquake-hit Myanmar, DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa said the mission proved the country’s capacity to respond quickly to major disasters and underscored the need to build more such teams nationwide.
“Ang sabi ko nga sa EVMC (Eastern Visayas Medical Center), ‘pag kami nagka-Big One sa Metro Manila, kayo ang pupunta sa amin to actually help us (I told EVMC that if the Big One hits Metro Manila, you’ll be the ones coming to help us),” Herbosa said during a Palace press briefing on Tuesday, April 15.
Herbosa said the team deployed to Myanmar was able to set up its operations faster than even wealthier ASEAN nations like Singapore.
The Philippine team, which is WHO-certified, was on the ground within 48 hours after the 7.7-magnitude quake struck.
“Naunahan po natin iyong pinakamayamang bansa dito sa ASEAN – iyong Singapore (We were able to deploy ahead of the richest country in ASEAN — Singapore),” the DOH chief said.
Currently, the Philippines has three WHO-certified emergency teams out of only 52 worldwide.
According to Herbosa, more teams are being developed in key regions.
“Ang plan namin is also to develop teams for national level para mabilis na rin kaming mag-deploy (Our plan is to develop national-level teams so we can deploy quickly),” he said.
The DOH said it is now working to establish additional PEMAT units in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Herbosa said continued training, logistics support, and international certification are critical in building up the country’s disaster response force.
In response to the March 28 earthquake in Myanmar, the Philippine government sent a medical response team on April 1. After 10 days of on-ground humanitarian work, the team flew back to the Philippines on April 13.