MMDA trains 3,000 individuals to be part of Rescue Volunteer Corps

MMDA meeting (PNA photo)

MANILA — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is training 3,000 individuals who have registered for the Metro Manila Rescue Volunteer Corps (MMRVC).

MMDA Director Mon Santiago said the training, conducted by batches of 200 volunteers each, consists of practical session day of orientation on how to respond to earthquakes and landslides.

Aside from the 3,000 walk-in volunteers, the MMDA also receives requests from Local Government Units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and private institutions to be part of the rescue volunteer corps.

Some organizations also want to include dogs in the training for search, rescue and retrieval operations.

The MMDA aims for 8,000 individuals to take part in the training who will respond to disaster scenarios such as the looming 7.2 magnitude earthquake which could shake Metro Manila at any time.

Participants will receive T-shirt, identification card and a certificate of training.

Interested applicants may visit the MMDA website www.bepreparedmetromanila.com or may call the MMDA office at 882-0927 or the MMDA Trunkline at 882-4151.

Meanwhile, Santiago is urging the public to join the Metro Manila-wide earthquake drill which will be held on July 30 at 10:30 a.m.

In order to make the drill effective, he said they are hoping that various sectors will give their all-out participation.

The drill is part of the agency’s commitment to ensure disaster preparedness, especially during earthquakes, using the sectoral grouping as specified in Oplan Metro Yakal.

MMDA employees are required to group themselves according to sectors of their places of residence.

Areas covered by the North Sector are Caloocan, Valenzuela, Malabon and Quezon City.

The cities of Navotas, Manila and Pasay form the West Sector.

The South Sector includes the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Las Piñas and the municipality of Pateros.

Covered by the East Sector are San Juan, Pasig and Marikina.

Oplan Metro Yakal is MMDA’s earthquake contingency plan which focuses on preparedness of government resources and that of private organizations during emergencies.

Phivolcs recently released the Valley Fault System Atlas which contained detailed maps of the areas near the earthquake faults — the East Valley Fall which runs through Rizal and the West Valley Fault which spans from Bulacan going to Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna.

The agency said a strong movement, possibly equivalent to a magnitude 7.2, from the fault is possible and could kill more than 30,000 people based from Phivolcs studies.

The atlas also identified the 72 barangays in the Metro Manila cities of Pasig, Quezon, Marikina, Makati, Taguig and Muntinlupa which are above the fault line.