The Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC), through the Office of the Civil Defense – National Capital Region (OCD-NCR), organized a three-day “Training-course on Operating the Emergency Operations Center” held last August 28 – 30, 2019 at the BSA Twin Towers, Mandaluyong City. The participants of the said event were from various National Government Agencies and institutions including the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), which was represented by Mr. Jude Karol O. Equila and Mr. Carl Reiner T. Padua, geologists from the Lands Geological Survey Division.
This training underscored the significance of the disaster response program of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). As provided for in the Republic Act No. 10121 also known as the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010”, the OCD-NCR, as the Executive Arm and Secretariat of NDRRMC, is mandated to implement standard operating procedures for coordination across all phases of disaster.
Under the thematic area of Disaster Response, one of the coordinating mechanisms established is the Incident Command System (ICS) which is a standard, on-scene, all-hazard incident management concept that can be used by all response groups. Aside from ICS, the Cluster Approach is also used wherein the Response Clusters serve as the operating mechanisms to provide widespread support in terms of resources pooling and mobilization for massive humanitarian assistance and disaster response services. Therefore, to facilitate the interoperability of these two important entities, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been developed.
The EOC is a facility equipped with personnel and resources that serves as repository of information and main hub for coordination to support the management of an incident or planned event. In this context, EOC acts as the link between the Incident Management Teams (IMTs) and Response Clusters.
During the training, the participants were taught how to operationalize the EOC which includes lectures and workshops tackling EOC’s requirements in accordance with the principles of ICS on facility and design, organizational structure, communication systems, information management, planning process, and capability readiness. These lectures and workshops, coupled with simulation exercises, proved to be vital tools in equipping the participating agencies the necessary knowledge and skills on managing EOCs especially during emergency situations.
Future DRRM trainings and workshops and the attendance of personnel from the MGB with DRRM-related knowledge are deemed important to enhance our capabilities on facilitating proper resource management, promoting safety, and ensuring accountability in times of disaster.
By: Lands Geological Survey Division
Photo 1. Composition of the EOC Training Course with the instructors and participants