MANILA — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) formally opened the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) 2018 Asia-Pacific Earthquake Response Exercise (ERE) at the Fontana Convention Center, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga Tuesday.
Defense Secretary and NDRRMC chair Delfin Lorenzana served as the event’s guest-of-honor and speaker.
He also highlighted the significance of the exercise in enhancing the country’s response capacity and its ability to work with international humanitarian partners.
“We are glad that through this exercise, our local rescuers would be able to supplement existing capacity in international urban-search and-rescue. And as a whole, our country’s national response capacity will be strengthened,” Lorenzana stressed.
This year’s INSARAG started on Tuesday and will end on Friday.
Some 27 countries worldwide, representatives of various sectors from the government, non-government and international organizations, will participate in the event.
INSARAG is a global network under the United Nations umbrella dealing with urban search-and-rescue systems and mechanisms. For many years, INSARAG has held exercises in several countries with the aim to strengthen a country’s response capacity in a major earthquake disaster; and to enhance its ability to work with international partners and agencies during the initial humanitarian phase.
This is the third time the Philippines will be hosting the INSARAG in line with efforts to pursue an external classification for the Philippine disaster-response team.
The country first hosted the INSARAG in 2004 and 2008.
According to the INSARAG, having teams classified based on a standard will enable disaster-affected countries to prioritize acceptance of international response support from urban search and rescue teams who can add proven value to their national capacity.
The INSARAG External Classification (IEC) is an independent, verifiable, voluntary process that has received unanimous acceptance through the group.
#INSARAGPH is the official hashtag for the INSARAG Asia-Pacific Regional Earthquake Response Exercise 2018.
The ERE seeks to test existing protocols on disaster response and the inter-operability of foreign USAR Teams and Emergency Medical Teams with their national and local counterparts during emergencies requiring international assistance.
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Greater Metro Manila Area (GMMA) generated from the West Valley Fault will be the exercise scenario.(Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
