By Lilian Mellejor/Philippine News Agency
DAVAO CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) hopes to speed up the mobilization of relief operations during calamities by establishing the Disaster Response Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC).
DROMIC, which was formally launched on Tuesday in the first summit held at the Pinnacle Hotel here, was established to lead disaster response information and emergency operations.
DSWD Undersecretary Felicisimo Budiongan, the head of the DSWD Disaster Response Management Bureau (DRMB), said that through DROMIC, information from the regional offices will be relayed faster, thus, enabling the DSWD to respond quicker.
Budiongan said they hope to provide relief response within the first hour after a disaster hits an area, especially in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAS).
He, however, said initial relief should come from the local government units. If the disaster drags on and the help that LGU’s offer is not enough, the DSWD can step in, he added.
He said DSWD should preposition goods ahead of the disaster.
Rodolfo Encabo, the Bureau Director of DRMB, said DSWD personnel have been instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte to be in a vulnerable area ahead of time, in cases when disasters are predictable such as when strong typhoons are headed for the country.
DSWD-11 Director Mercedita Jabagat said DSWD is also expected to immediately submit reports from the area.
Jabagat also emphasized that relaying of real-time information about a disaster-hit area is vital to the effectivity of the response they can extend, as what they have learned from major disasters such as Super Typhoon Yolanda and the earthquake in Bohol.
DSWD expects the DROMIC to serve as a helpful facility in managing information from the ground to the central office.
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