KAPIHAN SA BAGONG PILIPINAS. The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 5 (Bicol) Director Claudio Yucot (center) provides updates on various programs and activities aimed at ensuring zero casualties in the region’s six provinces during calamities, during the 13th Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas at the OCD-5 office in Camp Simeon Ola in Legazpi City on Tuesday (Aug. 20, 2024). The OCD has PHP10 million in standby funds to procure non-food items for disaster-affected local government units in the region. (PNA photo by Connie Calipay)
LEGAZPI CITY – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 5 (Bicol) said PHP10 million in standby funds has been set aside to augment various local government units (LGUs) in the region’s six provinces in case of a calamity.
During Tuesday's Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum held at the regional OCD office in Camp Simeon Ola here, OCD-5 Director Claudio Yucot said the PHP10 million allocation per year could be used to purchase non-food items for calamity-hit LGUs.
"We have a PHP10 million budget that is now in the procurement process. It's non-food items, which means tarpaulin, galvanized iron sheets, and repair kits, that can be given to those affected by the disaster," Yucot said.
He said that as a centralized body, all the big machinery and equipment that could be used during a disaster is available upon request at the OCD central office.
"We have water filtration equipment that can produce 50,000 liters of clean water and provide services to disaster-stricken communities. OCD also provides financial assistance to validated calamity victims for PHP10,000 and PHP5,000," he said.
Contingency planning, training
Yucot said the OCD has gone from being reactive to proactive.
"Contingency planning is a management process that formulates an analysis of specific potential events or emerging situations that might threaten society or the environment. It also establishes arrangements in advance to enable timely, effective, and appropriate responses to such events and situations," he said.
Yucot said OCD-5 conducts a series of skills training and capacity-building activities to ensure that LGUs and other national government agencies are trained and able to craft their contingency plans for the most probable and impactful hazards.
"OCD-Bicol has produced eight batches of incident command system (ICS) instructors to teach the local government units and response agencies (about) the response management tool. The purpose of the ICS is to help ensure the safety of responders, the achievement of tactical objectives, and the efficient use of resources," he said.
Yucot said 246 disaster risk reduction management practitioners have been trained to be speakers, subject matter experts, and facilitators to impart the importance of this managerial tool in the region. (PNA)
