BAGUIO CITY – A three-day Basic Incident Command System (ICS) training course is being conducted by the Office of Civil Defense – Cordillera Regional Office (OCD-CAR) until January 26.
The ICS for members of the Search Rescue and Retrieval (SRR) cluster – personnel of the 503rd Brigade of the Philippine Army and Kalinga police officers, target to enhance understanding of ICS as a vital tool for effective disaster response.
It also provides an overview background, concepts, principles and features of the incident command system; and demonstrates knowledge of basic ICS functions through exercises and class discussions.
OCD-CAR director Andrew Alex Uy said the agency will eventually institutionalize ICS at the provincial level to ensure that the local government units (LGUs) remain to be top performers during emergency response situation being the first line of defense.
Earlier, the OCD-CAR conducted capability-building programs in response to the challenges the Province of Kalinga encountered during Typhoon “Lawin.”
The training courses were conducted in the province aimed at equipping the I-kalingas with the fundamentals on disaster risk reduction and management and to improve their skills and knowledge by introducing the incident command system.
The three-day training course was attended by 40 student leaders who were taught on the country’s DRRM system, climate change, and different hazards through the basic DRRM training.
Uy said the training course included various lectures to recapitulate the lessons from the past major disasters that have affected the country and also to give emphasis on the four thematic areas of DRRM.
Participants were also taught about basic first aid and handling of injured victims. Jojo Lamaria/PNA-northboundasia.com