Kalibo, volunteer group win ‘Gawad Kalasag’

BOY RYAN ZABAL - GIVING A HAND. Personnel of Kalibo, Aklan’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council assist an elderly woman during a forced evacuation of residents near the Aklan River during the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” in November 2013.
BOY RYAN ZABAL – GIVING A HAND. Personnel of Kalibo, Aklan’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council assist an elderly woman during a forced evacuation of residents near the Aklan River during the onslaught of super typhoon “Yolanda” in November 2013.
By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan — The municipal government here and a volunteer group were declared winners in the 2014 Gawad Kalasag: Search for Excellence in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Humanitarian Assistance for Western Visayas.

Scoring 93.83 points, Kalibo won second place under the category for first- to third-class municipalities.

Gaining the top spot was Sibalom, Antique, which scored 94.83 points.

The volunteer group SEALS (Society of Enthusiastic Aklanons for Life-saving Services) Aklan was adjudged “Best Volunteer Organization” along with Bago City, Negros Occidental, for the component city category.

Two winners were declared for the province category: Capiz, with 95.65 points, and Guimaras, with 95.39 points.

Kalibo’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) Special Operating Unit, scoring 90.38 points, ranked second for Government Emergency Response Management for Basic Search and Rescue.

The Capiz Emergency Responders Team ranked first with 92.78 points.

For the Barangay DRRMC, Brgy. Poblacion, Bago City, Negros Occidental, won first place for urban category, while Brgy. Pis-anan, Sibalom, Antique, was declared winner in the rural category.

Office of Civil Defense regional director Rosario Cabrera announced the winners.

All nominees were selected and evaluated by a regional selection committee.

The Gawad Kalasag (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan) Regional Search for Excellence in Disaster Risk Management is annually given by the National DRRMC./PN