WESTERN Visayas sits on a ticking clock. Earthquakes, typhoons, landslides, structural failures — these are realities we face with increasing frequency and ferocity. Yet in the face of these dangers, only three local government units — Pavia, San Jose de Buenavista, and the Province of Antique — are currently capable of conducting collapsed-structure search and rescue (CSSR) operations.
As reported by this paper yesterday, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) raised the alarm, pointing out a preparedness gap so wide it endangers millions. Western Visayas has barely scratched the surface of technical disaster training. The rest of our local government units (LGUs) remain dangerously unprepared for one of the most complex and life-saving emergency operations.
What makes this more worrisome is that the deficiencies cannot be blamed solely on lack of support. The Office of Civil Defense has instructors, equipment, and technical experts ready to assist. Training modules can be standardized. Equipment can be borrowed. Yet many LGUs continue to cite familiar excuses — funding constraints, lack of gear, competing priorities.
But what priority could be more fundamental than saving lives?
A collapsed building does not wait for a budget timeline. A trapped survivor does not care whether a municipality has appropriated funds for training next year. When disasters strike — and they will — untrained responders risk not only the lives of victims but their own. That we have allowed this unacceptable level of vulnerability to persist shows a gross misalignment in governance priorities.
Republic Act 10121 is clear: LGUs are mandated to strengthen capacities and reduce vulnerabilities. But mandates are meaningless when local leaders treat disaster readiness as a box to tick, not a responsibility to uphold. Having disaster plans, committees, and sirens means little when responders on the ground lack the highly technical skills required for collapsed-structure operations.
The problem is not the absence of resources — it is the absence of urgency.
The RDRRMC’s directive urging LGUs to undergo CSSR training is welcome, but the absence of deadlines or accountability mechanisms emboldens complacency. Without pressure, many will again delay, defer, or deprioritize — until tragedy forces them to confront what could have been prevented.
Western Visayas has been spared from catastrophic earthquakes in recent years, but that reprieve should not be mistaken for safety. Our towns and cities are growing vertically. Our communities sit near active faults. Our region has experienced intensifying typhoons that weaken structures and increase the likelihood of collapses. To proceed without adequately trained rescue teams is to gamble with lives on borrowed time.
CSSR training is a minimum requirement for a region repeatedly exposed to major hazards. Every mayor and governor who fails to act now must be held accountable when preventable casualties occur later.
We cannot afford a disaster response that relies on the capabilities of just three LGUs. Western Visayas deserves better — and its people deserve leaders who understand that real preparedness begins long before the ground shakes or the walls crumble.
The clock is ticking. The question is whether our local governments will act before it runs out.
