ILOILO – To ensure zero casualties not only among humans but also animals during disasters, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) is advocating for animal evacuation shelters.
These shelters symbolize collective care for animals, said PDRRMO head Cornelio Salinas.
“What would be the primary entities to be evacuated, of course, are people. But zero casualty during disasters refers not only to people but also to animals,” stressed Salinas.
He expressed hope that, during preemptive evacuations for calamities such as flash floods and landslides, residents will not only secure their household belongings but also ensure the safety of their livestock and pets.
But this can only be realized with designated animal evacuation shelters in each municipality, said Salinas.
His call coincided with the launch of the Animal Evacuation Shelter Design Contest during the National Disaster Resilience Month. Through the contest, the PDRRMO aims to spark awareness and interest among local government units (LGUs) to establish evacuation shelters for animals, especially as the region approaches the typhoon and flash flood season.
Currently, Mina is the only town in the province with an animal evacuation center, funded by the Iloilo provincial government.
Guidelines for Animal Evacuation Shelter Design Contest
* The contest is open to Commission on Higher Education-recognize higher institutions offering Civil Engineering, Architecture and Agricultural Courses starting July 1, 2024, and to individual participants.
* Only one entry per participant will be accepted.
* Participants must guarantee that their entries are original and not copied/culled from works of particular individuals.
* The Animal Evacuation Design Shelter concept must align with the contest criteria.
* Entries will be submitted by respective participating higher institution/individuals to PDRRMO-Iloilo Province, Provincial Capitol Building on or before July 28, 2024 for evaluation.
* Winners will be determined by a pool of judges from different industries who are stakeholders in resilience and disaster management affecting animal welfare.
* Category of winners: Champion, 2nd Place, 3rd Place for higher institutions, and individual entries.
* Prizes – Champion (P10,000); 2nd Place (P6,000); and 3rd Place (P4,000)
* Individuals winners will be given cash prices, medals and Certificate of Participation.
* The announcement and awarding ceremonies of winners will be held at the Pototan-Astromdome on July 31, 2024 as part of the highlights of the 1st Iloilo PDRRMO Disaster Resilience Summit.
* The Iloilo Provincial Government will have exclusive Intellectual Property Rights on submitted entries.
Criteria
* Functionality and eco-friendly design capturing sustainability, efficient feeding mechanisms and sanitary animal evacuation shelter (30 percent)
* Structural design that adheres to environmental protection and appropriate to the needs of a particular animal. Example, shelter for cattle, wine and poultry (25 percent)
* Architecture concept taking into consideration the welfare of the animals tailored to common disaster affecting Iloilo Province such as typhoon and flooding (20 percent)
* Cost-efficiency/practical approach and use of indigenous materials endemic to the proposed relocation shelter areas (20 percent)
* Replicability of the design; can be adopted/copied by other LGUs/stakeholders (five percent)
Submission period is from July 5 to July 28./PN
