Guimaras vulnerable to disasters – OCD

ILOILO City – The island province of Guimaras is vulnerable to disasters because it is surrounded by waters, according to Director Jose Roberto Nuñez of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6.

“We have to protect and see to it that ‘yung mga nangyari before ay hindi na mauulit. Ang mga kababayan natin dito sa Guimaras mostly sa shoreline. So kapag may mga incidents, mahihirapan talaga lalo na kung mayroon tayong mga evacuations,” Nuñez said during a cleanup in Guimaras on July 15.

One such incident was in August 2006 when Guimaras was devastated by a massive oil spill from the sunken MT Solar 1 spilling 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel in the island. Hundreds of Guimarasnons were displaced economically and their health suffered.

Around 80 personnel from several agencies and volunteers converged for a cleanup in Guimaras on July 15 in observance of the National Disaster Resilience Month.

OCD-6 led the cleanup drive along the shorelines of Barangay Hoskyn, Jordan and barangays Sawang, Navalas, Tacay and San Miguel in Buenavista town.

Volunteers from Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Red Cross, Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management office and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices of the Municipalities of Jordan, San Lorenzo and Nueva Valencia, sectoral groups rallied for the common goal of collecting trash littering the coastline of Guimaras.

Gov. Samuel Gumarin said the coast cleanup is a mechanism to protect the environment not just for today but for the generations to come.

Guimaras is usually hit by calamities during the month of July and August, said Guimarin.

Guimarasnons should safeguard their habitat that has nurtured them and source of their livelihood according to the governor./PN

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