PMO Surigao personnel train on workplace safety, emergency readiness
By Susil D. Ragas
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte (PIA) — In a proactive move to reinforce emergency preparedness, occupational safety, and community response capabilities, regular and contract of service (COS) personnel from the Port Management Office (PMO) of Surigao completed an intensive five-day training program on Basic Life Support (BLS) and Standard First Aid (SFA).
PMO Surigao Manager Froilan Caturla said, “Recognizing that ports are fast-paced operational environments where medical emergencies and physical hazards can arise unexpectedly, PMO Surigao designed the program to equip its personnel with life-saving skills, technical knowledge, and the confidence needed to act swiftly during crises, both within port premises and in neighbouring communities.”
He shared that to ensure a balanced learning experience, the training was structured into two distinct, highly interactive phases that integrated detailed theoretical lectures, practical simulations, and rigorous skills assessments, such as basic life support, standard first aid, and trauma care.
The initial session focused on essential life-saving techniques for critical situations. Participants underwent training in adult, child, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the correct operation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), rescue breathing for victims experiencing respiratory arrest, and immediate interventions for foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO) or choking.
To guarantee operational readiness, attendees were evaluated through individual return demonstrations and realistic emergency simulations.
The second phase expanded into comprehensive medical and trauma response. Modules covered the clinical management of acute conditions such as sudden cardiac arrest, respiratory distress, severe fevers, and acute abdominal pain.
Personnel were also trained to handle environmental hazards, including venomous bites, stings, heat stroke, and accidental poisoning—as well as comprehensive trauma management involving open wounds, thermal burns, bone fractures, splinting techniques, and safe victim extraction and transport. Crucially, the phase incorporated specialised procedures for handling complex scenarios, including mass casualty incidents (MCIs), chemical and hazardous materials (HazMat) spills, submersion/drowning emergencies, and severe medical shock.
The five-day training was conducted through collaborative effort with expert medical practitioners from the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Health (DRRM-H) team of Caraga Regional Hospital (CRH).
The interdisciplinary facilitator team was led by Doctor Glenn Alfred Norris D. Baban, who served as course monitor, and Ian Carl P. Lim as course coordinator. Serving as academic coordinators were Elmer B. Zapanta and Jaymar O. Abalo.
They were supported by a dedicated group of certified nurse-instructors and clinical learning facilitators who monitored participant performance to ensure international standards of first aid delivery were met.
Albert, one of the participants, shared his appreciation. “To say the experience was intense would be an understatement. Moving from theoretical knowledge to hands-on CPR drills, wound management, and emergency response simulations really pushed us out of our comfort zones.’
“Thank you to the management and organizers for prioritizing this life-saving initiative, and to our instructors for their patience and expertise. I feel significantly more confident knowing that our PMO team is better prepared to step up when seconds count,” he said.
By empowering its workforce with these vital emergency competencies, PMO Surigao reaffirmed its commitment to establishing a resilient, safety-oriented environment across its port facilities, ensuring that port workers, passengers, and port stakeholders are protected by a frontline workforce capable of providing immediate, competent first response prior to the arrival of advanced medical services.
The said capacity-building initiative was conducted in two separate batches at the PMO Surigao Gender and Development (GAD) Center, running from July 29 to 30 and continuing from August 4 to 6. (SDR, PIA Surigao del Norte with a report from PPA-PMO Surigao)
