Laoag City—The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) participated in the 3rd Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC).
Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) evaluated the emergency exercise, in which employees from each provincial department, led by the Provincial Risk Reduction Management Council or Resiliency Office, took part. They were also joined by children ages four to five years old enrolled at the Provincial Capitol Learning Center.
Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Mariano “Nonong” V. Marcos II reiterated the importance of knowing what to do in emergencies such as earthquakes, saying, “Sana seryosohin natin itong drill at isipin na parang tunay na sakuna. Who knows what will happen? You can never tell. Tinatamaan pa man din tayo minsan ng lindol dito.”
NDRRMC under the Office of Civil Defense spearheaded the NSED with an objective to educate the public on earthquake response and to boost overall disaster-preparedness in the country.
The Philippines’ geographical location makes it prone not just to typhoons but also to other natural calamities like earthquakes, since it is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire—a seismically active belt of earthquake epicenters.
After the drill, the Resiliency Office distributed emergency kits containing medicines and other first aid materials to each provincial department. (Ma. Christian A. Ramos)