BAGUIO CITY- – The Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD – CAR) spearheaded the Gawad Kalasag Regional Awarding Ceremony at Newtown Plaza Hotel, here.
Leading the GK awardees is the municipality of La Trinidad, which aside from being a regional awardee, also bagged the national Gawad Kalasag award for the Best Regional Local DRRM Council – 1st to 3rd class category.
Awarded runner – ups to La Trinidad in the regional award are the municipalities of Buguias, Benguet and Luna, Apayao in second and third places, respectively.
For Best Local DRRM Council in the 4th to 6th class municipality category, awarded was the town of Bucay, Abra.
For Best Barangay DRRM Council, awardees were Barangay Ambiong (1st place), and Barangay Puguis (2nd place), both of La Trinidad, Benguet.
Mountain Province was named Best Provincial DRRM Council and the University of the Cordilleras as Best Higher Educational Institution.
The Best Volunteer Organization were Loacan Health Emergency Response Team of Itogon Benguet (1st) and 911 On Call Inc. Baguio City (2nd).
For Best Elementary School Category, awarded were Paoad ES of Tublay, Benguet (1st); Mt. Data ES of Bauko, Mountain Province (2nd), and Cagubatan ES of Tadian, also in Mountain Province (3rd).
For Best High School category, winners were Lepanto National High School in Mankayan, Benguet (1st), Banguitan National High School in Besao, Mountain Province(2nd) and Mil – An National High School in Baguio City (3rd).
Special recognition was also given to Itogon, Benguet Municipal Health Services Office for local government emergency management category.
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director and OCD Administrator, assisted by OCD – CAR Regional Director Albert Mogol, spearheaded the awarding of plaque of recognition to the awardees.
Jalad, in his keynote message, expressed the government’s gratitude to the awardees for their committed DRRM effort. He called for sustained partnership in ensuring a safe, climate change adaptive, resilient and progressive country.
“It is incumbent on all of us in public service and private practice to maintain the safety and well being of our people, defending them from all dangers be it human induce or natural. The challenge of building preparedness and resilience, as well as the rehabilitation and recovery of the stricken communities must be continuously face with the utmost resolve and commitment,” Jalad said.
‘Our people can be assured that we, in the NDRRMC, the whole of government and Filipino society will remain steadfast and true to the mission of building a safe, climate change adaptive and resilient Philippines,” he added.
Gawad KALASAG (Kalamidad labanan at sariling galing ay kaligtasan) is an annual search that aims to give recognition to outstanding DRRM programs, as well as to encourage more participation of various stakeholders in the country’s disaster risk reduction and management landscape. **JDP/CCD-PIA CAR
