Dinagat Islands bolsters oil spill response preparedness
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office of Dinagat Islands, in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), spearheaded the Oil Spill Awareness and Emergency Recovery Training on June 4 and 5.
PDRRM Officer Rosario Jra. R. Alon said, “This training is not just about sharing knowledge and skills, but also on building a community of well-informed individuals.”
The Philippine Coast Guard, through the Task Force Ingat Yamang Dagat, provided a comprehensive discussion on oil spill marine pollution and its effects to the environment, including its spread to the coastline and seawaters, among others.
The resource persons presented the strategies to undertake and resources to use if an oil spill happens to the participating risk frontline officers and responders coming from the different local government units and key offices handling DRRM and boat operators in the province.
Highlight of the activity was the actual oil spill simulation exercise through demonstrations on containment recovery and dispersant application were executed.
The PCG, mandated to primarily lead the incident on oil spill, underscored the importance of the simulation.
“Ang simulation nagtumong sa pagsusi sa pagka epektibo sa mga linya sa komunikasyon, sa mga estratehiya sa pag-deploy og mga responders, ingon man ang mga lakang sa pagpanalipod sa kinaiyahan aron mapugngan ang kadaot niini gumikan sa oil spill,” said Lieutenant Junior Grade Jerson L. Estioko of PCG.
(The simulation is designed to assess the effectiveness of our line of communication, deployment strategies of the responders, including the significant steps to take to control and manage the damages brought by the oil spill).
As insight into the significant activity, the participants suggested for the government to invest more and upgrade the facilities and equipment to better respond to oil spill incidents.
Dinagat Islands, a province in Caraga region with seven municipalities and surrounded by islands and islets, is located in the south side of the Leyte Gulf, while the island of Leyte is to its west across Surigao Strait and mainland Mindanao is to its south. #
With its geography, Dinagat Islands is vulnerable to disasters, including an incident on oil spill, calling DRRM and key government agencies in the province to tighten their preparedness and bolster community awareness against this inevitable threat. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands with a report from PDRRMC and PIO Dinagat Islands)
