Personnel of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)
participated in a metro-wide earthquake drill on July 30, 2015. The
drill is a disaster-preparedness plan in the event of a strong tremor
caused by the Valley Fault System, an active fault that traverses the
greater Metro Manila area.
PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo G. Cacdac,
Jr., who led the PDEA personnel during the in-house earthquake
simulation, said that the drill, which is spearheaded by the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), was participated in
by local government units, government agencies, schools, churches and
other establishments situated within Metro Manila.
“In May 2015, the PDEA Intelligence and Investigation
Service (IIS) under Director Randy Pedroso conducted a two-day seminar
on disaster preparedness to pre-selected PDEA personnel which composed
the PDEA Emergency Response Team (ERT). The training program was
conducted to equip them with knowledge and capability to address
various emergency situations,” Cacdac said.
The sequence of the PDEA Earthquake Drill scenario was
done as follows:
a. Once the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
(PHIVOLCS) has announced through radio or television that there is a
magnitude 7.2 earthquake, the PDEA has commenced the drill;
b. Simultaneous to the PHIVOLCS’ announcement, PDEA-IIS sounded the
two bullhorns (one each for the PDEA main building and annex building)
for one minute to represent the “ground-shaking”. Members of the PDEA
ERT ordered their colleagues to carry out the “DROP, COVER, HOLD”
maneuver during the duration of the alarm;
c. Members of the PDEA Evacuation Team and PDEA ERT ushered the
PDEA personnel and visitors to the evacuation area, which is at the
Visitor’s Parking area just across PDEA National Headquarters in
Quezon City;
d. The PDEA ERT of each PDEA Service/Office coordinated with their
corresponding Administrative Head to prepare the attendance sheet of
accounted personnel;
e. The Evacuation Team leader of each floor of PDEA buildings
reported to the Floor Supervisor that every personnel has been
properly accounted for; and
f. The PDEA Emergency Medical First Response Team convened at the
evacuation area to check on PDEA personnel suffering from dizziness,
minor injuries, etc.
“No one can precisely predict when and where an earthquake
will happen. But through the drill, we help reduce the risk of injury
and loss of lives when a major earthquake strikes,” Cacdac added.
The Valley Fault System is an active fault system in the
Greater Metro Manila Area (GMMA) composed of two fault segments: the
10 km long East Valley Fault (EVF) in Rizal and the 100 km long West
Valley Fault (WVF) that runs through different cities and towns of
Bulacan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna. The West Valley Fault
can generate a large-scale tremor with a 7.2 magnitude which poses
threat to people’s lives, buildings and infrastructures, and
livelihood.(Mr. Glenn J. Malapad, OIC, Public Information Office, PDEA)
Posted By: Edrillan Pasion
