ILOILO City – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) will construct a P36.5-million regional evacuation center in this southern city.
The city government has allowed the OCD to use a portion of the city’s 5,000-square meter property in Barangay Tacas, Jaro district for the evacuation center and regional depot/warehouse.
“We are very happy to enter into this partnership,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas who signed a Usufruct Agreement with OCD Region 6 director Jose Roberto Nuñez.
The presence of a regional evacuation center in the city will make the metropolis more disaster-resilient, he said.
“During calamities or kis-a may dako nga sunog or baha, this facility will be readily available. But indi lang ang taga-syudad makagamit kondi bilog nga rehiyon,” said Treñas.
The regional evacuation center would be able to accommodate around 530 families.
The warehouse, on the other hand, would be keeping non-food items that could be used by the Department of Social Welfare and Development during relief operations.
Nuñez said this evacuation center would be the 13th such facility of the OCD in Western Visayas.
“We don’t have a proper evacuation center here so we would like to express our gratefulness to the city government for partnering with us,” said Nuñez.
Just this August the OCD opened a P32-million evacuation center in Barangay Gines, Zarraga, Iloilo. No less than Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana led the turnover to the local government unit of the host municipality.
“The government is constructing evacuation centers all over the country due to the increasing frequency and strength of natural disasters. Why is that so? Because of climate change, global warming,” said Lorenzana.
He also acknowledged the concern expressed by the Department of Education over class disruptions every time schools are used as evacuation centers.
OCD is building five more in Barangay Milibili, Roxas City; Barangay Igtambo, San Miguel, Iloilo; Barangay Tab-ao, Sagay City, Negros Occidental; Barrio Vista Alegre, Bacolod City; and Nueva Valencia, Guimaras.
Each evacuation center has the following features:
* accommodation building with beds
* offices for the OCD and local disaster risk reduction and management council
* infirmary and pharmacy
* separate toilets and bathrooms for males, females and persons with disabilities
* laundry and drying facility with water
* power generator room and pump room
* garbage disposal building
* storage room which can be converted into a child-friendly learning space/PN
