ILOILO City – “I saw that communication was the problem,” said Jose Roberto Nuñez, director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas.
He was referring to Friday last week’s disaster response exercise at the Iloilo Strait simulating disaster at sea – a boat full of passengers capsized.
The delivery of reports to the operation center was hampered, said Nuñez, and specifically the basic information – “the who, what, when, where, and how.”
If the exercise was a real disaster rescue operation, it would have been a failure, he said.
He gave it a rating of 60 – a failing grade.
Communication is vital in disaster response, it could save lives, Nuñez stressed.
Among those that participated in the simulation exercise was the Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine National Police and Maritime Industry Authority.
The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) would find ways to boost the communication among its line agencies for better emergency and rescue operations, said Nuñez, also the body’s chairperson.
In the absence of cellphones, he said, radios may be used.
Even then, said Nuñez, during the
simulation exercise it became clear that the radio frequency of concerned
government agencies were “not unified.”
“The Philippine Army, Philippine National Police and coastguard have their own
communication…this must be linked,” said Nuñez.
The port-to-port communication must also improve, he added.
The personnel assigned at the port in Iloilo must inform those in Guimaras of the time a motorboat had sailed, he suggested, so that when such boat had not reached its port of destination in 20 minutes, “we will immediately respond.”
“I was in the operations office (during the simulation exercise). I saw that communication was the problem. Line agencies lacked communication,” lamented Nuñez.
On Aug. 3, three motorboats plying Iloilo-Guimaras route capsized in theIloilo Strait, killing 31 people. (With the Philippine News Agency/PN)
