Pangasinan creates 10 clusters with specific duties to ‘level-up’ disaster response system

THE PANGASINAN government, through its Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), is setting up 10 clusters with detailed duties to strengthen its system for disaster preparedness and response. “We want to shift the paradigm doon sa (into the word) ‘resilience.’ Ang pinaka-purpose nito ay mag– (The main purpose here is to) level up ‘yong ating mga (our) LGUs (local government units) and stakeholders, PDRRMC Chief Col. Rhodyn Luchinvar Oro said during the Pangasinan in Action forum this week. PDRRMC Spokesperson Avenix Arenas said they are now finalizing “the particular duties and responsibilities of disaster response clusters,” which will then be endorsed to Governor Amado I. Espino III for the issuance of an executive order. These specific functions will become the standard operating procedure for all PDRRMC member agencies and institutions. The clusters are: food and non-food items; health; protection, camp coordination and management; logistics; emergency telecommunication; education; search, rescue and retrieval; management of the dead and missing; law and order; and clearing operations.