The Ilocos Times

Laoag City —The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) participated in the 3 rd Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC). Members of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) evaluated the emergency exercise, in which employees from each provincial department, led by the Provincial Risk Reduction Management Council or Resiliency Office, took part. They were also joined by children ages four to five years old enrolled at the Provincial Capitol Learning Center. Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Mariano “Nonong” V. Marcos II reiterated the importance of knowing what to do in emergencies such as earthquakes, saying, “ Sana seryosohin natin itong drill at isipin na parang tunay na sakuna . Who knows what will happen? You can never tell. Tinatamaan pa man din tayo minsan ng lindol dito .” NDRRMC under the Office of Civil Defense spearheaded the NSED with an objective to educate the p

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter Laoag City —More government agencies and local government units have reported more damages from the week-long monsoon rains. Department of Public Works and Highways second engineering district engineer Mathias Malenab said they have estimated at least PHP74 million national roads damages as of August 28, 2018. The damages are on four parcels of roads in the Ilocos Norte-Apayao Road, particularly at Brgy. Maananteng in Solsona. DPWH pegged the damages for the said road at PHP67 million. DPWH listed the damages as eroded road shoulders and slope collapse. Other damaged roads were the Batac-Pinili Road at Brgy. Buanga in Pinili; and the Ilocos Norte-Abra Road at Brgy. Poblacion in Nueva Era. The said roads incurred eroded road shoulder, which the DPWH estimated at PHP5 million and PHP2 million, respectively. A landslide also damaged the two lanes of the Pinili-Nueva Era Road at Brgy. Liliputen in Nueva Era. The DPWH has ye

San Fernando City , La Union—“ Ang pagtulong sa kapwa ay hindi nasusukat ng kahit anong halaga. Masarap sa pakiramdamdam na nakakatulong sa iba lalo na kung sa panahon ng sakuna ,” shared Eduard C. Vilog, 28, from Brgy. Biday, this city. Eduard is one of the 165 volunteers in La Union in repacking Family Food Packs (FFPs) at the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 (DSWD FO 1) Regional Warehouse in Brgy. Biday, City of San Fernando, La Union. He consistently and selflessly offers his time for DSWD Relief Operations since the past typhoons in the last two months.    “ Iniisip ko ang kapakanan ng mga taong nasalanta ng bagyo kaya naman hindi ako naghihintay ng anumang kapalit ,” he added. Though DSWD gives one FFP in exchange of the eight-hour disaster duty of the volunteers, Eduard insisted not to receive his and even exceeded the required number of hours. DSWD FO 1 considers volunteers as partners in responding to typhoon victims.   Eduard s

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—As Ilocos Norte was still recovering from weeklong monsoon rains, typhoon Mangkhut (local name Ompong) pummeled the province leaving PHP3.2 billion in agriculture and infrastructure damages. Provincial officials immediately placed Ilocos Norte under a state of calamity in a Sangguniang Panlalawigan special session on September 17, 2018. The SP members unanimously passed Draft Provincial Resolution No. 2018-09-265 declaring the province under state of calamity. The extent of damages in agriculture amounted to more than PHP1.88 billion with most of damages on rice affecting 48,229 hectares, livestock worth PHP78 million, high value crops, PHP24.7 million and at least PHP20,000 for fisheries. The estimated damages of PHP1.37 billion in infrastructure cover flood and river control projects, roads, bridges, irrigation facilities and tourist centers. Damaged schools Mangkhut , which the Joint Typhoon Warnin

PIDDIG'S  flood control dam at Brgy. Abucay holds back flood waters from the torrential rain in Piddig. (Berong Ver) By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—Heavy rains brought about by the southwest monsoon left three deaths and around PHP282 million in damages, the Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) reported. Based on its latest situation report, the PDRRMC said the biggest damage was recorded on infrastructure particularly on unfinished construction of national roads and bridges including flood control projects at PHP226.7 million. Floodwaters submerged rice fields and other high value crops in some areas of the province due to torrential rains over the past days, reaching damage of more than PHP3.5 million in crops, PHP1.5 million in fisheries and around PHP779,000 in livestock. The PDRRMC also reported 12 houses were partially damaged in the low-lying barangays of Carusipan in Pasuquin; Cabulalaan in Bacarra; Ablan,

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—The provincial government has replenished at least seven satellite evacuation centers in Ilocos Norte with canned goods and other basic commodities in times of disaster. Provincial social welfare and development officer Lilian Caliva Rin confirmed this after moderate to heavy monsoon rainfalls in the past few weeks. Placed in various strategic places of the province, Ms. Rin said, “The evacuation centers of the province are packed with relief goods consisting of food and non-food items. Among these also include blankets, used clothing and cooking essentials.” According to Ms. Rin, the PSWDO also came up with a database for senior citizens who are living alone in their respective houses. During typhoon, officials will prioritize them in the monitoring. Based on previous typhoon experiences here, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) noted that some senior citizens living alone in th

Dingras mayor Erdio Valenzuela receive a series of disaster response and preparedness equipment from the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for the town’s five barangays here namely: Elizabeth, Barong, San Marcelino, Baresbes and Foz. The project is in partnership with and funded by the BMZ Phase 2 Community and School Based DRRM which aims to empower communities and government institutions to replicate and consolidate inclusive community-based disaster risk reduction. (Doms dela Cruz)

By Dominic B. dela Cruz Staff reporter Batac City —All public elementary and secondary schools in this city are now also evacuation centers for calamities and disasters. This was the result of a recent Sangguniang Panlungsod resolution that authorized Batac Mayor Albert D. Chua to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the local Dept. of Education office here. Division supt. Joann A. Corpuz will represent DepEd in the MOA. Batac councilor Jeremiah C. Nalupta sponsored the resolution is in line with the thrust of the national and local leaderships to mitigate the impact of such foreseen and unforeseen disasters and calamities. Mr. Nalupta said this is for the city’s preparedness and resilience to minimize, if not eradicate, undue losses such as lives and properties. The vice chairman of the committee on education therefore, said that the city government should have initiatives and protocols to establish a permanent standby or areas which can become evacuation

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Pinili , Ilocos Norte—The Philippine National Police conducted a surprise earthquake drill at the Badio Elementary School in this Pinili town on the morning of July 19, 2018 to assess the knowledge and preparation skills of learners here in the event of calamity. At 9:45 in the morning, the school bell rang, which surprised the students. A grade 3 pupil, Hannah Luzcille Pagdilao and her classmates immediately ducked and covered their head with a book and moved out of the classroom since an “earthquake” has disturbed their on-going classroom activity. While they were at the open ground, the eight-year-old Ms. Pagdilao who became the team leader, started to count her classmates to check if there anyone trapped inside the classroom. In a corner, SPO1 Noel Abad along with PO Claire Ramiscal, Princess Aguinaldo, Sammy Sangbaan, Neil John Kieran Leano and Richard Rafanan of the Police Community Relations Office of the Ilocos N

  Better late than never. Laoag Mayor Chevylle V. Fariñas and Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Ria Fariñas lead the distribution of housing materials of typhoon Lawin (international name: Haima) victims in 2016. Those with totally and partially damaged houses totaling 120 received eight galvanized iron, one kilo nails and roof sealants each. The funding came from the National Housing Authority thru Rep. Rudy C. Fariñas (Ilocos Norte, 1 st  district). The city government also gave financial assistance in the amounts of PHP5,000 and PHP3,000 to those who suffered totally and partially damaged houses right after the typhoon, respectively, and aside from the relief goods. (Doms dela Cruz)

Laoag City —The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), in cooperation with the Department of National Defense (DND) and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), conducted the Incident Command System (ICS) Executive Course on July 10, 2018, at the Provincial Capitol Auditorium. Local chief executives and department heads of the provincial government attended the one-day training together with representatives from the academe. This was to make the ICS more comprehensive and responsive to different agencies, according to Engr. Pedro S. Agcaoili, officer in charge of the Provincial Resiliency Office. “ Talagang napakaganda ng naidulot ng Republic Act 10121 o Philippine Disaster Risk and Management Act dahil napakaaktibo na ng mga agency at local government unit na pinangungunahan ng disaster management ng lugar natin ,” Mr. Agcaoili stated. Topics comprising the training included the key principles of ICS, c

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter Solsona , Ilocos Norte—Residents in the flood-prone areas of this town lauded the town’s local government for upgrading its capacity for disaster preparedness. This is because a brand new six-wheeler truck with crane is now on standby whenever a strong typhoon hits this part of Northern Luzon. In previous years, the municipal government’s rescue team are dependent on old heavy trucks to transport typhoon victims in evacuation areas or to a safer ground. “We purchased the rescue vehicle to promote resiliency and to ensure zero casualty during calamities,” said Solsona Mayor Alexander Calucag. In time for the observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month this July, hundreds of government employees, municipal and village officials, students and other public and private organizations and agencies joined the “Walk for Resilience” around the major thoroughfares of Brgy. Poblacion here. Organized by the Municipal

Laoag City —With Executive Order (E.O) No. 56, series of 2018, dated May 25, 2018, the provincial government of Ilocos Norte strengthened its existing emergency hotline services by making all calls to it free of charge. Dubbed the Ilocos Norte Provincial Incident Response Management (PIRM) 911, PGIN launched it in December 2016 as a centralized hotline ensuring rapid response to accidents and other emergency situations through immediate coordination with the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office (INPPO) and other public safety agencies including the Bureau of Fire Protection and provincial hospitals. PIRM 911 operates 24/7 with four landline and mobile phone numbers:   077-600-0948, 077-772-1772, 0999-999-7707, and 0917-109-9911. Trained personnel stationed at the Provincial Capitol handles all calls. Though based in Ilocos Norte, PIRM 911 also has within its jurisdiction reports from nearby provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Sur. Wilfredo Lorenzo Jr., Provincial Inf

By Iryn D. Cubangbang Cotributor San Fernando City , La Union—The Dept. of Social Work and Development (DSWD) Region I, as the lead agency on response, early recovery, and rehabilitation of disaster victims in Region 1, trained 40 employees—the pioneer group—on basic Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized approach to emergency incidents.   Led by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 1, other subject matter experts came from Department of Health and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO)-La Union. At the start of the three-day training, DSWD Region I director Marcelo Nicomedes J. Castillo emphasized the importance of the ICS in disaster operations ̶ for the staff to get a good grasp of the activities done at the local level so they will have the expertise to provide technical assistance or expertise at any given time. “The Philippines is enlisted among the top 10 disaster-prone countries; thus, the ICS is very important, esp