Bontoc, Mountain Province – Schools, government offices, and some private offices are prepared and ready for any occurrence of an earthquake.
The evaluators reported that most of the participating offices such as the Cooperative Bank of Mountain Province, Social Security System, Bontoc Municipal Capitol , and schools in Bontoc properly executed the “duck, cover and hold” technique and evacuated from the buildings.
However, business owners, their workers, and their customers at the Bontoc Public Market are not prepared and ready for any occurrence of an earthquake.
This was the result of the post-evaluation conducted at the Bontoc Emergency Operations Center after the 3rd Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) which was participated in by the business sectors, private and government offices, and schools in the capital town.
Per observation by the evaluators assigned at the Bontoc Public Market, the participants did not execute the six steps necessary to do during an earthquake. Most of the participants did not properly execute the “duck, cover, and hold technique”, most of them did not go out of the building and continued with what they were doing, and some acted surprised why the provincial siren, as well as the Fire Truck sirens, were activated at 9:00 A.M. of September 8, 2022.
With this, an Information Education and Communication (IEC) campaign on the six steps necessary to do during an earthquake and another earthquake drill will be scheduled at the Bontoc Public Market.
With the latest earthquake that struck Luzon and its epicenter in Abra Province in July, Bontoc Mayor Jerome “Chagsen” Tudlong, Jr., who also chairs the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council solicited the cooperation of everyone to take the earthquake drill seriously, more so that it is conducted quarterly.
He added that the conduct of quarterly earthquake drills is necessary as it intensifies the readiness, awareness, and responsiveness of the public.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Johanna Padaen thanked all the offices, agencies, and responders who served as the workforce during the earthquake drill.
She added that their recommendations are of great help and will be relayed to the participants to improve the earthquake preparedness of the community.
The workforces during the earthquake drill are members of the Bontoc Emergency Response Team (BERT), personnel from the various offices of the Bontoc Local Government Unit, Bontoc Municipal Fire Station, and Bontoc Municipal Police Station.
The NSED is a regular activity spearheaded by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) which is cascaded down to local DRRMs to promote a culture of safety awareness and foresight among all people.**Alpine L. Killa-Malwagay, Bontoc LGU
