• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The provincial government of Negros Occidental will construct evacuation dormitories that can accommodate 5,000 persons at the Panaad Park in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 6, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said that Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has ordered that the construction of the evacuation center will be a priority.
It will have a dual purpose since the five-story dormitory can be also used by athletes during trainings and if there are big sports events, he added.
The provincial government is targeting to construct 10 evacuation dormitory buildings, with mess halls, comfort rooms and water facilities.
Every building, which can accommodate 500 people, is estimated to have a budget of P50 million, Diaz said.
He said that the provincial government has savings to be used for the construction of the first module.
The remaining space at the Panaad Park may not be enough for the 10 buildings, but Diaz said they will give an option to Capitol employees and others, who purchased lots inside the Panaad Park to swap it with subdivision lots at the Manayaosayao site also in Barangay Mansilingan, which is owned by the provincial government.
“If that works, then we will have more space (at the Panaad Park) for the evacuation dormitories,” he added.
Diaz also said that the provincial government is preparing to pre-position the recently acquired 20 ambulances in various local government units.
“These will be manned by our emergency response teams under the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. We trained the drivers and the teams,” he added.
Diaz said that the operations of the ambulance units are being managed by the province’s 911 operations center located at the Panaad Park.
“We hired and trained the right people and they are to be deployed wherever they are needed. We will also place vehicles and personnel along the highways to respond to vehicular accidents,” he added.
Diaz said that this will assure Negrenses of personnel deployment and response in case of emergencies.
The provincial government is also set to purchase another passenger bus as part of the transport for emergency evacuation and for utilization by the Capitol employees, he said. | GB
