DISASTER TRAINING. Members of the indigenous people communities and local officials participate in disaster preparedness training in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte on Monday (Aug. 12, 2019) at the Sto. Tomas Central Elementary School. (Photo courtesy of Sto. Tomas MIO)
DAVAO CITY -- Some 500 members of various tribal communities in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte were trained on disaster preparedness on Monday.
The disaster training cum workshop for indigenous peoples (IPs) dubbed as “Lumadnong Pagtimbaya: Lumadnong Pagresponde, Lumadnong Pamaagi” was spearheaded by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO).
Lawyer Elai Evangelista-Lapina, daughter of the local chief executive and a disaster risk reduction advocate, underscored the importance of mobilizing the IPs in prevention strategies and risk mitigation.
“We need to build a culture of disaster risk reduction in our tribal communities because they too are prone or expose to risky situations when a disaster, hazard or natural calamity strike,” Lapina said.
Lapina said the disaster preparedness training for IPs is a vital mandate of RA 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.
The training for the IPs was the first of its kind to happen in the town’s history.
“What makes this training more unique is that they were taught how to respond in emergency situations using their own ways. We are teaching them measures of self-protection and prevention based on what is culturally appropriate,” Lapina said.
She expressed confidence that this training would be more responsive during calamities with the installation of Indigenous People’s Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Datu Doming I. Tomaytay, who also heads the Municipal Tribal Council.
The participants in the workshop included barangay leaders, IP chieftains, and school representatives, among others.
They were lectured on disaster preparedness, risk and disasters, prevention, hygiene and emergency response, which were given by personnel from MDRRMO and Bureau of Fire Protection. (PNA)
