Iloilo City, CSO collab for disaster resilience

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas has commended volunteer brigade Federation Fire (FedFire) Iloilo for their inclusion in the 24th Gawad Kalasag National Validation in the metropolis Sept. 25.

The National Validation and Selection Committee, composed of representatives from the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Office of Civil Defense, and Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency, visited City Hall to assess FedFire.

On its part, FedFire assured Ilonggos that it will continue to immediately deploy volunteers as long as the city has an urgent need.
The fire brigade is comprised of Ilonggo Chinese businesses with which the City Government has formed a strong and healthy civic partnership in ensuring a culture of safety and preparedness.

They exemplify that disaster risk reduction is a community effort that extends beyond response.

A crucial element is the active involvement of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) such as FedFire in prevention and mitigation, fostering a holistic approach to safety and resilience.

“Our stakeholders are participatory. Being experts in their own fields, they can contribute a lot, and we can rely on them,” said Donna Magno, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Officer.

With the relationship with FedFire, Magno said the City Government is always thankful to its partners for taking the initiatives in disaster management and climate change adaptation.

“FedFire’s volunteers have always been ready to help and are generous with their resources. They are one call away,” she told the validators.

To better services, Magno also cited the city’s ongoing efforts in creating district-level DRRM offices for efficient resource and hazard mapping and streamlining barangay-based bucket brigades.

Magno recalled that FedFire aided in distribution of water to El Niño-hit barangays, manned the medical posts during the city’s vaccination rollout in satellite sites, supported oil spill response, joined dengue bloodletting drives and misting activities, and went beyond and extra in every emergency drill and simulation.

Together with concerned agencies and volunteer responders, including FedFire, the city successfully took on the challenge of leading the drill for four different scenarios involving an 8.2 magnitude earthquake, as pilot site for the Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) in 2019. (Pearl Socias/Iloilo City PIO)