CABANATUAN CITY – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) expressed readiness in the event of any calamity with its reactivation, declared Dr. Abraham Pascua, the council’s co-chair and provincial director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Pascua said command posts are to be established in Barangay Puncan, Carranglan; San Casimiro in Licab, and one each in the municipalities of Rizal and Jaen.
Command posts are designed to immediately render service, including rescue and relief operations, on areas traditionally affected by flooding caused by typhoons.
The PDRRMC, he said, has approved on Friday the appropriation of the province’s five percent calamity fund, which is roughly P70-million, for pre-disaster activities. The remaining 30 percent will be utilized during calamity situation, he said.
Pascua noted that new gymnasiums constructed by the provincial government were elevated and designed to be evacuation centers, in case needed.
“Gov. (Aurelio) Umali has asked our engineers to make them fit for evacuation purposes,” Pascua said.
Umali, along with his wife, 3rd district Rep. Czarina Umali has been funding multi-purpose gymnasium all over the province.
Pascua said both the provincial police office and the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division have also readied their manpower and equipment for the PDRRMC.
