In building the Disaster Resiliency Complex in Barangay Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, the facility is projected not only to serve the city’s barangays but also neighboring towns, cities and provinces, City Hall’s disaster response chief said.

 

‘This disaster resiliency complex is strategically located in the city (but in our future plans) we’re not only capacitating our 80 barangays but also our neighbors in the province and other regions,’ said Nick Jabagat, chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Department (CDRRMD).

 

During last Thursday’s edition of the ‘In Focus’ program series hosted by the City Information Office, Jabagat said Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando ‘Klarex’ Uy shares their office’s vision to collaborate and build partnerships with neighboring local governments in northern Mindanao in disaster preparedness and response.

 

‘In case our city needs help, we can ask for their help,’ he said in Visayan.

 

Aside from facilities and equipment, Jabagat said the CDRRMD can also provide trainings to organizations and to neighboring local governments.

Work on the five-storey Disaster Resiliency Complex in Zone 8, Barangay Carmen is ongoing after last year’s groundbreaking and it will house the CDRRMD’s main office, a training facility, and an operations command center.

 

The facility will also house offices of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) and the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA).

 

‘It will be centralized and the complex will also have dormitories for our responders. Due to Cagayan de Oro’s metropolization, this complex isn’t only for Cagayan de Oro City but for northern Mindanao,’ Jabagat said.

As such, it’s to Cagayan de Oro City’s benefit that it builds partnerships with neighboring local governments and the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) to enhance its capacity for disaster preparedness, response and resiliency, Jabagat said.

 

Aside from the complex, City Hall under Mayor Klarex’s administration is also set to complete its Operation Kahusay Og Kalinaw center (OKK) within the year. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)