The Office of Civil Defense in eyeing the establishment of a warehouse for relief goods, as well as a satellite office, in Dumaguete City.
Three regional directors (RDs) of the OCD met with Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo and Councilor Rey Lyndon Lawas Jan. 6 and presented their request for the allocation of lots for an OCD satellite office, a training center, and a warehouse for relief goods inside the Eco-Park and MRF compound in Barangay Candau-ay, Dumaguete.
The proposed location is deemed strategic as the facilities will be built next to the DSWD warehouse.
OCD RDs Raul Fernandez of Region 6, Joel Erestain of Region 7, and Donato Sermeno III of the Negros Island Region also aim to strengthen partnership with the local government for disaster prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery and rehabilitation, the city said Jan. 7.
Remollo said that, if realized, the proposed OCD facilities will help ensure timely delivery of food and nonfood items for calamity victims and displaced individuals, and the provision of a training hub for local disaster management officers and volunteers.
He also shared that the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Full Council of Central Visayas has commended the City Government of Dumaguete for initiating the proactive climate change mitigating shoreline protection project in Barangay Poblacion1-Tinago.
Due to climate change, Dumaguete has experienced devastations caused by a series of typhoons, including Sendong in 2011, Pablo in 2012, Auring in January 2013 and in February 2021, and Odette in December 2021, with massive damage to properties and endangering the lives of residents, forcing many to be evacuated for safety.
The shoreline protection project is a mitigating measure to preserve the lives and properties and establishments along Rizal Boulevard and in Barangay Poblacion 1, all the way to the mouth of the Banica River, by preventing huge waves and storm surges from flooding these coastal areas, like in the past.
Also present at the meeting were City Engineer Loyd Tenaja, City DRRM officer Allen Froilan Cabaron, Engr. Leonides Caro of the City Planning and Development Office, and former DILG regional director Lilibeth Famacion, among others. ||
