DAVAO ORIENTAL—Employees at the Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center (DOPMC) and the Provincial Capitol have been prepped for 8.3 magnitude quake as the province joined the third quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on August 8, 2019.

This drill’s concentration area was at DOPMC wherein hospital staff and selected patients performed the basic “duck, cover, and hold” and followed the evacuation route established through the facility’s Disaster Action Plan.

Chief of Clinics Dr. Rommil Oraiz, who was the area’s Incident Commander, said the drill was carried out successfully as their staff have become acquainted with the skill on disaster response.

“Based on my observation, majority of the staff have participated,” he said, mentioning that the rest of the staff who were not able to participate are those who were attending the needs of their patients. Despite this, Dr. Oraiz stressed that “even when the staff is at the ward, they were still instructed to perform the basic duck, cover, and hold during earthquake. So I can really say that we are all well-informed.”

Noting the hospital’s major challenges, which include the shifting of schedules of the staff, he said that they always make sure that other members of the Disaster Action Team are always present who will oversee an incident.

“I believe that the hospital is one of the facilities here at the province that should be ready during disasters. That is why we always make sure there is a member of Disaster Action Team who is always present,” he said.

He added that they are planning to improve their emergency signages.

“We are planning to put up more signages and make them luminous so that watchers and patients can easily spot them at night,” he said.

Meanwhile, the earthquake drill was also successfully conducted at the Capitol Building.

Provincial Planning Officer Freddie Bendulo, who was the Incident Commander at the Provincial Capitol, said that they still have to cultivate the “seriousness each participant of the drill.”

“Earthquake is the only disaster that cannot be predicted that is why we will continue to advocate for the employees’ seriousness in disaster response,” he said.

He also added that the Capitol’s Disaster Action Team will still have to look into improving its Disaster Action Plan such as on the communication system, the assessment of structural integrity, and the establishment of signages.

“The incident management team will look into it. We will relay it to the governor so that we can create plan in improving on these areas,” he said.

The event was spearheaded by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PRDDRMO) in cooperation with the different government agencies such as the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Army, Philippine National Police, and the Philippine Coastguard. By Riza M. Golez/ Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan