CDRRMO, hailed as one of the top performing Local DRRMs in the country
The Koronadal City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office was recognized as the top performing local DRRMS for upholding its mandate to ensure that the people of Koronadal are safe and prepared in times of disaster by developing plans and programs to improve disaster preparedness and strengthen the city’s disaster response.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council recognized these efforts, and on November 27, 2023, CDRRMO Koronadal was recognized as one of the Local Government Units that have achieved the level of Beyond Compliance in the Gawad Kalasag Seal for Local DRRM Councils and Offices at the national level.
This recognition is awarded to Local Government Units who have achieved excellence in the pillars of disaster management which includes disaster preparedness, disaster mitigation and prevention, disaster response and disaster rehabilitation and recovery. Each Local DRRMs are rated and classified accordingly. Those Local DRRMs who have achieved excellence in all those pillars are recognized as “Beyond compliance”, those who have reached satisfactory level are tagged as “Beyond Compliance” and those who just clinched the passing rate but not in a satisfactory manner are tagged as “Compliant”.
This award is given to Local Government Units that have demonstrated excellence in disaster management pillars such as disaster preparedness, disaster mitigation and prevention, disaster response, and disaster rehabilitation and recovery. Each Local DRRM is rated and classified as such. Those Local DRRMs who have achieved excellence in all those pillars are recognized as “Beyond compliance”, those who have reached satisfactory level are tagged as “Beyond Compliance” and those who just clinched the passing rate but not in a satisfactory manner are tagged as “Compliant”.
“Recognition ni sya sa excellence in disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance. Gina Gawad in isa tanan nga LGU’s nga mag quality annually. May tatlo ni sya ka kategorya. Ang beyond compliance amo to ang pinakataas amo to ang nakuha sang City Government of Koronadal. This is already second year in a row na, 2022 and now 2023.” Says City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Cyrus Jose J. Urbano.
One of the programs which catapulted the disaster management of the city is the establishment of “Korona-911” wherein all Koronadaleños, even those who are situated in the far-flung areas of the city can directly report incident through their cellular phones. Globe and Touch Mobile subscribers can directly dial 911 while other telco subscribers can dial 310-2000 until 310-2005. CDRRMO has assigned individuals in charge of answering phone calls 24/7 in a three-shift schedule basis.
“Very proud kita nga kita ang pinaka una nga nag introduce sang Corona 911 as both disaster prevention component and disaster response. Dati kun may mga emergency nga kinahanglan sa barangay kabudlay mag responde subong madasig nalang” says CDRRM Officer Urbano.
CDRRMO has also identified the evacuation centers in each barangay so that the impacted citizens in times of calamities will know where to go. They have also installed 300 CCTV cameras in strategic places all over the city as part of their initiatives to boost disaster mitigation and prevention. These CCTV cameras are closely monitored to make sure that CDRRMO can respond not only to natural calamities such as landslides and flashfloods in the barangays but also to any untoward incidents taking place in the city.
The City Government of Koronadal through the initiative of CDRRMO has also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with various entities for disaster response. First, with the 1204th Community Defense Center who have pledged the full support of the Army Reservists to respond in times of emergencies. Moreover, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed with three volunteer communicators organizations in the city namely the the Kabalikat Civicom, Kabalikat Radyocom and Kabalikat Malaya with members all throughout the 27 barangays that makes emergency calls from the barangays to the CDRRMO communication hub a lot easier and faster.
CDRRM Officer Urbano is eyeing to further improve all of these initiatives for the fiscal year 2024. In fact, CDRRMO aims to expand the scope of Korona-911 not only to Globe and Touch Mobile providers but also to other telecom such as Smart and PLDT providers. “Pabaskugon pagid namon inang Korona-911 nga ma institutionalized sya kag ma recognize sya sang 911 national under the DILG. Last week nag sulat na ako sa Executive Director sang 911 national sa DILG para mag provide sang technical assistance dire sa aton sa syudad sang Koronadal kag ma recognize ang aton nga Korona-911 as part sang ila man nga programa” CDRRM Officer Urbano added.