ILOILO CITY — The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP or Provincial Board) finds it necessary to establish a command center that will allow the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDDRMO) to dispatch its duties effectively in case of emergencies.
On Tuesday, the legislative body passed Supplemental Budget No. 1 containing the PHP50 million fund for the construction of the multi-purpose building to be used as a temporary command center and the PHP750,000 fund for equipment needed during emergency response operations.
The multi-purpose building will be constructed at the site of the Ker and Company building, situated right at the back of city hall. Once a permanent command center is established, which is being proposed in Barangay Lanit in Jaro district, the temporary center will be used as a substation.
Councilor Lady Julie Grace Baronda further explained that the CDRRMO would like to make sure that the last stronghold, although away from the city, is safe for everyone, the reason there will be a command center to be built in Lanit, Jaro.
“The committee is now convinced that there is an urgent necessity for the establishment of the so-called ‘command center’ for the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office. The only way to accommodate the center is to build or construct a new building in order to house and cater the same,” Councilor Plaridel Nava II said in his chairman’s report.
As explained to him by CDRRMO head Donna Magno, the command center “shall serve as dispatch center, data gathering repository hub, monitoring center, control and coordination center and as the last stronghold of the Iloilo City Government Infrastructure, particularly in large scale disasters.”
While Nava, who chairs the appropriations committee, granted the PHP50.75 million budget, he also slashed other items in the supplemental budget, such as the PHP7.361 million proposed for disaster response and rescue equipment; PHP1.425 million for personal protective equipment; PHP560,000 for the information and education campaign materials; PHP2 million for partnerships and linkages; and PHP5.8 million for multipurpose evacuation center.
Nava said “the mayor’s office has not fully substantiated their urgency.”
Councilors Jay Trenas and Armand Paron, however abstained during the voting. Trenas pushed for further study of the proposed budget.
