To strengthen the operability response and readiness of the responders in managing critical incidents, the Davao de Oro government successfully conducted the Bulawanong Kaandam – a simulation exercise on Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) during the celebration of the Bulawan Festival on October 22, 2022.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) spearheaded the activity in partnership with the Provincial Health Office. The exercise was participated by various municipal emergency response teams, private and security sectors, and humanitarian organizations in the province.
PDRRMO Department Head Joseph Randy Loy underscored the importance of exercise as it helps to evaluate, assess, and improve the capacity of organizations to react to emergencies effectively and efficiently.
“We are here to prepare ourselves for response in the future, gikinahanglan nga kabalo ta sa atoang mga roles and responsibilities, particularly the local government units where the accidents have taken place,” Loy said.
Staging MCI involving multiple vehicular accidents, Loy added that the exercise aims to test the effectiveness of the command control system, specifically the activation of the Incident Command System (ICS), establishing linkages, communications, and coordination.
He also expressed his gratitude to Governor Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga for allowing the Bulawanong Kaandam as one of the activities in the Bulawan Festival.
Louise Mark Cirunay, Chief Operations of the Office of Civil Defense XI, congratulated the participants and the exercise management team for executing excellent operational coordination between the province, operation center, dispatch, and down to the responders.
"As a whole, I am very confident na in times of disaster ang PLGU-Davao de Oro will be able to cope or respond accordingly to any hazard that may happen in the province," Cirunay added.
(R. Hortizano, Photos by Albert Dayao, MCI victims all enactment/simulations)
