September 17, 2021, MANILA—The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), in partnership with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) and with the support of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), recently conducted a training workshop on emergency response particularly on setting up an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of the local government unit (LGU) of the Islamic City of Marawi.

A total of 24 representatives coming from various offices of the Marawi LGU and civil society organizations in Marawi participated in the two-day workshop, all in one physical location, observing minimum health and safety protocols. Expert facilitators from OCD, PDRF, the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – CODIX, and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) delivered lectures online.

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Training participants at The Loft Hotel, Iligan
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Organizers and facilitators from PDRF, UN Habitat, OCD,  DOH, DILG CODIX, and BFP

The course integrated basic knowledge and skills needed by emergency managers and staff to help them prepare and execute their responsibilities efficiently and adequately. The course linked EOC management to an organization’s existing public service continuity plan and other disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) programs to ensure that critical operations can continue during any crisis.

“As Marawi embarks on its future, infrastructures have been made but ensuring that the future can be sustained and preparing its citizenry is very vital. As I have always said, the Meranaos will be the ones crafting their future – not UN Habitat, not the NGOs who helped Marawi, but [the Meranaos themselves]. Now it’s very important that the local government and its local agencies are well-equipped and prepared to face the challenges of the future,” said UN Habitat Project Manager Warren Ubongen.

The training adopted a blended learning approach, combining self-paced e-learning modules with online lectures and tabletop exercises. Participants were required to take the online course on emergency operations center management uploaded to PDRF’s digital learning platform, iADAPT, in addition to attending the live webinars and actively responding to the different scenarios presented during the simulation exercises.

“This training will show you how the government and the private sector work together for an integrated response not only at the national level but also at the LGU level. We hope this training will strengthen and enhance your existing programs,” said PDRF Executive Director Ms. Veronica Gabaldon in her opening remarks.

In 2018, PDRF launched its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Clark, Pampanga – the first private sector-led national emergency operations center in the world. The EOC serves as the private sector’s main coordination hub for monitoring typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, pandemics, armed conflicts, and relief efforts during disruptions.

Learn more about the basics of setting up an Emergency Operations Center as well as many other relevant DRRM topics by creating a free account on iADAPT and checking out the course catalog here: https://iadapt.pdrf.org/