• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The state-of-the-art Victorias City Command and Evacuation Center (VCCEC) was blessed and inaugurated this morning, March 14, with Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. as guest of honor and speaker.
Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez said the P55 million national government funding was through the Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance to Local Government Units (LGSF-FALGU), and the city government allocated an additional P4 million to ensure the best standard evacuation center.
“Once a dream of every Victoriahanon, now a reality,” Benitez said, adding the center, constructed in just six months, or from May to December last year, “is a testament to our continued collective effort in building a stronger community that stands true to its name as ‘Sidlak sang Kadalag-an’, and the cradle of excellence where the brilliance of hope shines through.”
Abalos said the VCCEC’s significance extends far beyond its physical infrastructure. “This will serve as the nerve center for monitoring and managing various aspects of the city security and disaster response. This is not merely a structure of concrete and steel; it is a symbol of our collective determination in mitigating the impacts of calamities and protecting our communities in time of need.”
Occupying about half-a-hectare within the 25-hectare Sidlak Victorias Global City in Barangay XIII, the two-storey VCCEC can accommodate 700 to 1,000 evacuees, Benitez said.
The center will have a fully-equipped disaster operations center that has a telephone communication system to augment centralized emergency hotlines, advanced surveillance technology, IoT equipment such as rainfall gauges, proximity, and pressure sensors, and various disaster management equipment, he added.
Other facilities at the VCCEC are the Sidlak Victorias Media Production Center, the soon-to-air community radio station, a basketball court, and a prayer room, among others.
“We commit to utilizing the full potential of this center, maintaining the services it can offer, and turning this facility into a model of how an evacuation center should be,” Benitez said, adding the VCCEC is part of his administration’s “enduring dream to build a smart and resilient Victorias City.”
Aside from the VCCEC inauguration, Abalos and Benitez also led the blessing and inauguration of Victorias’ Balay Silangan, also in the barangay, and the BIDAlagan race against illegal drugs, all part of the pre-Kadalag-an Festival activities.
Victorias also hosted the town hall meeting and signing of pledge of commitment and support to the DILG programs this afternoon at the City Coliseum, attended by acting Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer, and officials from LGUs and DILG attached agencies, such as the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Fire Protection, among others.
Abalos said priority programs of the DILG include the continued fight against illegal drugs, ensuring adequate fire trucks and equipment, eradicating malnutrition, streamlining and facilitating the Ease of Doing Business, and efficient government service delivery, among others. | CGC
