by Vincent Philip Bautista
MISAMIS ORIENTAL (PIA)–The Philippine Information Agency (PIA)-10 employees demonstrated the duck, cover, and hold procedure as they took part in the conduct of the 1st Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED), March 9.
“We participated in today’s NSED to assess and evaluate our preparedness when an earthquake comes. From the drill today, we found that we need hard hats to cover our heads from falling debris. We also need to find a safe evacuation center after getting out of our workplace. We do need to hold an earthquake drill often to familiarize ourselves with “duck, cover, and hold” just to keep ourselves prepared,” PIA-10 Regional Director Frank Pacatang Gumapon shared.
Held quarterly, the NSED is one of the government’s efforts to promote disaster preparedness and resilience while also testing out efficiency measures among individuals and institutions.
Local government units (LGUs), schools, national government agencies (NGAs), and private businesses participated in the event, which started at 2:00 p.m. and lasted until mid-afternoon. Offices for Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation (DRRM) across Northern Mindanao also held mock response drills.
“Today’s 1st quarter nationwide simultaneous earthquake drill taught me that there are things that we have to work on, and I am confident that our office will continue to strive towards achieving a kind of working environment that is prepared for times of disaster,” Information Officer Irene Joy Dayo said. (VPSB/PIA-10)
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