ILOILO City – Amid heightened concerns over recent seismic events worldwide and local tremors, the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) staged a rigorous seven-hour structural collapse simulation on May 25 to test and enhance its urban search and rescue capabilities.
The exercise, dubbed the Collapse Structure Search and Rescue Simulation Exercise (CSSR SiMEx), was spearheaded by the CDRRMO’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Unit and featured high-intensity rescue operations, structural triage, and complex decision-making scenarios.
“This isn’t just a routine drill,” said Darwin Papa, chief of CDRRMO’s Disaster Response Division. “It’s an evolving, real-world simulation where we raise the bar each year to meet international standards. The global rise in earthquake events underscores the urgency of these preparations.”
USAR Section Head and certified Structural Collapse Specialist Darryl Thulasidas oversaw the operation, which evaluated the city’s readiness across four critical focus areas:
* responder safety and operational planning
* adherence to and improvement of standard operating procedures
* patient triage and extrication, and
* structural assessment and access methods
CDRRMO medical officers Dr. Nial Zaldarriaga, Dr. Lovejoy Palmejar, and Dr. Princess Layasan ensured health protocols were integrated throughout the simulation, demonstrating the multidisciplinary coordination between technical and medical teams.
Papa emphasized that drills like these form part of Iloilo City’s long-term disaster resilience strategy.
“Preparedness is a continuous mission,” he said. “This simulation reinforces the fact that readiness is not optional — it’s essential if we want to save lives when the real thing happens.”/PN