Sison: How disaster-ready are we?
March 23, 2011
I GOT a response to our article about the housing program for government employees, no less than from Vice President Jejomar C. Binay. Here’s a mailed response dated 21 February to that article:
Dear Mark,
Thank you for the article you wrote in Sun.Star Pampanga. We have been working hard to implement this program. As chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, it is of high priority to me that all government employees who have housing needs be provided with quality and affordable housing options. We are confident that with the continued support of President Benigno C. Aquino III, the implementation and success of these programs will soon be realized.
May you continue to be a dedicated partner in nation-building. More power and success to you.”
*****
Filipinos are prepared at least psychologically for the next Big Ones that will imminently hit our country anytime. The major fault lines are those trenches running along the eastern region of the Philippines (Surigao, Samar, Bicol, Quezon, Isabela). Among the other faults are: Marikina Valley Fault (Montalban-San Mateo-Marikina-Pasig-Taguig-Muntinlupa-San Pedro-Binan-Carmona-Santa Rosa-Calamba-Tagaytay-Oriental Mindoro), Western Philippine Fault (Luzon Sea-Mindoro Strait-Panay Gulf-Sulu Sea), Eastern Philippine Fault (Philippine Sea), Southern Mindanao Fault (Moro Gulf-Celebes Sea), and the Central Philippine Fault (Entire Ilocos Norte-Aurora-Quezon-Masbate-Eastern Leyte-Southern Leyte-Agusan Del Norte-Agusan Del Sur-Davao del Norte). The earthquake that destroyed Guinsaugon is the Central Philippine Fault and the 1990 earthquake that destroyed Central Luzon and Baguio is the Central Philippine Fault. But how ready is the rest of the country for the other disasters, natural or man-made waiting to strike? Not very.
According to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Philippines is the fourth most accident-prone country in the world. The two institutions arrived at this conclusion after finding out that some 5,809,986 Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of disasters or man-made calamities over a 10-year period (1992-2001). If not for its smaller population, the Philippines could have been the world’s second most accident-prone country after Iran. Because of its large population, China topped the accident list, with 97,783,301 of its citizens affected by accidents during the 10-year period. It was followed by India, which reported 46,060,125 victims during the period. Iran is third in the list, with 6,416,570 victims. Behind the Philippines were Ethiopia, with 3,334,266 victims; and Pakistan, 2,732,032 victims. The global report by International Red Cross said 535,416 people were killed in natural disasters and 86,947 others in industrial, transport and other “technological disasters” worldwide from 1992 to 2001. According to the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), 31,835 Filipinos were killed and 94,369,462 others were affected by natural disasters and calamities in a span of 20 years. The PNRC said the Philippines is a natural laboratory for floods, typhoons, monsoon rains, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides.
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Lawmakers are pushing for the passage of a measure instituting a responsive and organized pre-hospital and emergency care system to address cases brought about by natural and man-made calamities in the country. Reps. Susan Yap (2nd District, Tarlac) and Joel Roy Duavit (1st District, Rizal) said House Bills 911 and 1714 they authored respectively, sought the enactment of the Pre Hospital Emergency Care Act to ensure the development of pre-hospital emergency service system at the national and local levels. At present, Yap said some hospitals lack the required facilities and medical personnel to address emergency situations and the country is prone to risks and emergency cases because of calamities like flooding, earthquake, volcano eruption, and landslides. Yap said the country needs “a more responsive and organized pre-hospital and emergency care system to help us have a coping mechanism and reduce casualties arising from such emergencies.” House Bill 911 seeks to establish an environment conducive to the practice of pre-hospital emergency care and maximize the capability and potential of emergency medical technicians and other emergency care professionals. The bill seeks the creation of the National Pre-Hospital Care Council (NPHCC) which is tasked to formulate and implement policies, develop national standards and protocols, engage in research, including emerging technology, emergency education and training of medical personnel and the evaluation of existing courses and examination procedures. The NPHCC shall develop the scope of work of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) based on internationally accepted standards who would also be subjected to a nationally based licensure examination. The bill provides for the adoption of a national emergency number for the public to access in emergency situations which shall be under the supervision of the National Telecommunications Council. The proposed measure aims to fully maximize the potential and capability of EMTs, at the same time professionalize the practice of paramedicine in the country, and develop standards of knowledge and skills for its members required for their certification and registration, and would ensure competency and expand members’ opportunities locally and internationally.
Lawmakers, for their part, proposed to integrate disaster readiness lessons into the country’s educational system on first aid administration, survival techniques, disaster management and coordination, and other lessons and skills. These lessons will be integrated into existing non-academic subjects such as the National Service Training Program (NSTP) and the Reserve Officers Training Course (ROTC) in tertiary schools. The program may also include the best practices in evacuation, biohazard and radiation safety protocols, fire and flood risk management and other activities that will help ensure the country’s readiness in times of calamities, including massive earthquakes.
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Unfortunately, the national government lacks sufficient equipment and facilities to cope with widespread nuclear fallout in the country. While government officials announced the activation of the National Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan (Radplan), few details were revealed to the public on the plan and exactly how it would be implemented. There was no mention of the availability or the setting up of containment/isolation facilities available to the public, except some advisories on how Filipinos should cope in the event of a nuclear emergency. The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) said there are measures the government would implement in the event of a nuclear emergency like sheltering, temporary evacuation and distribution of potassium iodide tablets, and enough tools to measure radiation levels in the country. In the Radplan, the public is advised to stay indoors and seal their houses to avoid ingesting or carrying around radioactive materials that have attached to dust or other airborne particles.
One major weakness in the country’s disaster management system is the inadequacy of well trained “first responders” who can be immediately mobilized for evacuation, search and rescue, and other humanitarian assistance efforts. Even our reserve command in the Armed Forces is not being utilized to its maximum capacity because there’s hardly a system which ensures full mobilization of the country’s reserve personnel. The only ones that are active in the reserve force are the ready reserve and active reserve personnel. These first responders can even be tapped to assist during minor disasters such as fire and floods which are frequently experienced in low lying areas and in highly urbanized centers. Instead of teaching our children how to march in unison as is being done in the ROTC, it will be more useful if they are taught first aid administration, survival and other similar activities that will train them to become capable disaster management volunteers.
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