PRO8 equips men with SAR capabilities

By RPCRD, Police Regional Office 8
October 2, 2012

CAMP SEC. RUPERTO K. KANGLEON, Palo, Leyte  –  Recognizing the need for better vigilance and the establishment of precautionary measures against impending disaster, not to mention the reputation of Eastern Visayas as disaster-prone region, Police Regional Office 8 initiated a search and rescue (SAR) training to its men aimed at equipping them with proper competence on disaster management.

“The PNP, being at the forefront in protecting and securing people against all forms of harm, must take some precautionary measures to ensure that disaster pass without undue loss of life, human suffering and damages to property”, PCSupt Elmer Ragadio Soria, PRO8 Regional Director said during the opening ceremony of the Disaster Search and Rescue Management Training on Monday morning at PRO8 Grandstand.

“We cannot prevent or stop a flashflood or an earthquake from happening but we can be prepared for its onslaught and mitigate the damage”, Soria said, adding that PRO8 as far as disaster management is concerned, will focus on disaster mitigation through training, simulation exercises, purchase of SAR equipment and identification of disaster risk areas.

Forty eight participants composed of 6 Police Commissioned Officers and 42 Police Non-Commissioned Officers from the Regional Public Safety Battalion 8 (RPSB 8) were the participants in the training being held at the Regional Special Training Unit 8 (RSTU 8) while two similar trainings were recently conducted in Samar PPO.

Soria stressed that the country is currently undergoing a shift from a rather reactive system of disaster management, to more proactive disaster risk reduction and management. Thus, this training will equip his men with better capability to be more effective and systematic in times of emergencies and calamity-related operations.

Lying on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, Eastern Visayas experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activities and is frequently visited by storms from the Pacific Ocean. The region receives heavy rainfall throughout the year with no pronounced dry season making it prone to landslides.

On September 1 this year, thousands of residents had been affected by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that rattled Eastern Visayas and destroyed or damaged several houses with more than P12.8 million worth of damages to public infrastructure.

On February 17, 2006, a mudslide tragedy which pegged an official death toll of 1,126 transpired in Brgy. Ginsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte while on November 5, 1991, the Ormoc River overflowed, bringing with it numerous logs, resulting in a flashflood in the city’s lower areas and took over 4,000 lives, 3,000 missing, 14,000 destroyed homes and more than P600 million worth of damaged property.

Soria is confident that the training will improve the disaster response capability of his men and ensure their readiness in responding to emergency and disaster situations that require swift response from public safety and emergency services.

The SAR course includes hypothetical and practical trainings on application of skills in first aid, basic life support, boat-handling, knot-tying, deployment of life-saving buoys and devices, and removal of debris in collapsed structures.

The Regional Director added that this kind of training is in line with the PNP’s Letter of Instruction “Saklolo”, an updated and enhanced plan of action of the PNP on disaster preparedness and response management in support to other concerned agencies. LOI “Saklolo” prescribes the support strategy, operational concept, and scheme of implementation to accomplish the PNP’s support mission in times of disaster and calamity situations.