By
Dominic I. Sanchez
ZAMBOANGA
CITY – “Being prepared for disasters should be
everyone’s responsibility,” declared Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde Saturday to
local multi-sectoral representatives that included barangay officials, academe,
business sector, government offices and the police.
“Disaster risk reduction and management needs
all sectors of society, and everyone should be proactive,” he added. Iturralde
emphasized that “nobody knows the precise time when disasters would strike, and
they pose a clear and present danger to lives and property.”
“Everyone is a potential victim,” he pointed out.
Zamboanga City, Iturralde said, has been
proactive in its disaster-mitigating plans through the creation of a disaster
risk reduction and management office headed by Dr. Elmeir Apolinario. However,
he emphasized that despite this, all sectors should take active part since the
responsibility does not only fall on government alone.
On Saturday (February 28), representatives from
the different sectors converged at the Centro Latino in Paseo del Mar here for
a forum on disaster risk reduction and management, organized by students of the
Western Mindanao State University -College of Public Administration and
Development Studies (WMSU-CPADS) in coordination with the City Public
Information Division.
The forum speakers, which included Office of
Civil Defense (OCD) Assistant Regional Director Jose Eric Castillo and
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) chief Engr. Allan
Labayog, all emphasized that people should best be prepared for disasters,
particularly the looming effects of climate change that is attributed to be the
main cause of abnormal weather patterns. In addition, Castillo and Labayog
emphasized the need for preparedness for the “big one,” referring to an
earthquake of great magnitude.
Castillo stressed that the communities, down to
the family level should have their own disaster preparedness plan. “We just
have to adapt to the ‘new normal’,” he said.
