The Office of Civil Defense (OCD-6) has called on the public to take disaster preparedness seriously, stressing that building resilient communities requires the active participation of every Filipino.
During a press conference, OCD-6 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division and Operations Section head Atty. Melissa Banias reminded the public that disaster preparedness is a shared responsibility and should not rest solely on the government.
“It really takes two to tango; disaster preparedness is a shared responsibility, not just the government alone,” she said.
Banias emphasized the importance of preparedness exercises before real emergencies occur following observations that some participants did to take the recent Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) at Iloilo City Hall.
“Hopefully indi nila maeksperyensyahan kung ara na sila sa matuod-tuod nga emergency. Kay kita, we just appreciate things when we are in a real scenario, and in that moment mahambal naton, ‘Ay tani ginseryoso ko to,’” she said.
Meanwhile, Banias assured that the OCD will continue its disaster awareness campaigns despite the challenges and will further intensify its preparedness efforts.
“For us naman, especially in the OCD, we will not give up, the government will not stop doing it until ang katawhan maging seryoso, maka-learn to develop the muscle memory kung paano ubrahon, ano ubrahon in case of emergency,” she said. Jose Alphonso Ceria, WVSU-COC intern/IMT
