ILOILO City – Negros Occidental and Capiz provinces bagged most of the citations during the 20th Gawad Kalasag (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan) regional awards.
The entries from Negros Occidental which were cited as best in disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) were the following:
* Bago City – independent-component city category
* Barangay Busay, Bago City – barangay committee (rural) category
* Gen. Juan A. Araneta Elementary School, Bago City – primary school category
Bago City was further cited for its Local Government Emergency Management and Response Teams.
Disaster management is everybody’s concern, stressed Office of Civil Defense deputy administrator for operations Nicanor Faeldon who delivered the keynote address during the awarding ceremony at the Iloilo Convention Center on July 27.
“If we do not address it na lahat tayo (all of us), we are going to fail our constituents,” said Faeldon.
Entries from Capiz that were recognized were the following:
* Dumalag, Capiz – best municipal DRRM council for fourth- to sixth-class municipalities
* Capiz State University in Roxas City – best DRRM for higher educational institutions
* Bailan District Hospital in Pontevedra, Capiz – best hospital (local government unit)
* St. Anthony College of Roxas City, Inc. – best hospital (private)
Robinsons Place – Roxas City was also given a special citation (best DRRM, business/corporate).
Faeldon urged stakeholders to ponder on what improvements needed to be done in the area of disaster management.
“I looked at the statistics. I don’t know if we are improving in our reporting. The expenditures of the government in managing disasters are continuously rising,” he said.
The province of Aklan was cited for having the best provincial DRRM council while the town of Banga, Aklan was honored for the first- to third-class municipality category.
Bacolod City won the best city DRRM for the highly-urbanized city category.
Amity Volunteer Fire Brigade based in Bacolod City bagged the best volunteer organization award.
From Iloilo, the Granada National High School-Ballesteros Campus in Carles town and Barangay Nalundan Day Care Center in Guimbal town won the best secondary public high school and early learning center categories, respectively.
Iloilo City’s Barangay Buntatala won the award for best barangay DRRM committee for urban barangay category while the Diocesan Social Action Center in San Jose, Antique was awarded the best civil society organization.
According to Celeste Milan, chief of the planning section of the Office of Civil Defense Region 6 and Gawad Kalasag focal person, the annual award started in 1998.
“It was conceived to encourage the participation of various stakeholders in disaster risk reduction and management programs. The end goal is to protect high-risk community against hazards,” she said.
The champions in each category received P50,000 and plaques while the second and third placers got P30,000 and P15,000, respectively. (PNA)
