A huge leap forward.
That was how the city government of Biñan City in Laguna viewed the recent inauguration of its three-storey building housing the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) last March 27.
Biñan City Mayor Arman Dimaguila and Vice Mayor Gel Alonte joined other local officials, along with national disaster mitigation officials, including Dr. Mahar Lagmay of the University of the Philippines (UP) Resilience Institute and Tadeo Sagritalao of the Office of Civil Defense Calabarzon, in the opening of the new and modern C3 Command Center at the City Hall Complex.
“Ang Command Center na ito ay inaalay natin sa ating mga kababayan na nangangailangan ng tulong, gayundin sa mga rescuers, firefighters at iba pang mga volunteer na nagsisikap sa kabila ng matinding panganib,” Dimaguila said in his speech during the event.
The new Command Center is also a testament to the continuing efforts of the city government of Biñan to render quality service to its residents as pledged by Mayor Dimaguila last year, according to Roman Carencia of the Biñan City Information Office (CIO).
“Asahan po ninyo na magpapatuloy ang mga ginagawang hakbang ng ating pamahalaang lungsod upang mas mapaghusay pa ang mga serbisyong inihahatid nito sa ating mga mamamayang Biñanense,” Carencia said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.
Carencia added that the recent passing of three department heads of the Biñan City government – Atty. Nora Pangan, Atty. Noel Velasco and Atty. Mian Yco – at the 2022 Bar Exams is another testament of the city’s push for excellence in governance.
“Hindi lang ang mga equipment natin ang ‘state-of-the-art’ kundi pati na rin ang ating mga tao – ang mga department head at mga kawani na nagsisikap na mapagbuti ang kanilang pagsisilbi sa ating mga kababayan,” he said.
High-resolution cameras
The new C3 Command Center building serves as the focal point for all activities conducted by the CDRRMO in ensuring the safety and security of Biñanenses, Marie Bonacua, head of the Biñan CDRRMO, said in an interview with OpinYon Laguna.
The focal point of the center is its CCTV monitoring room, which serves as the city’s eyes and ears in watching over the city.
From the former 169 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras once operated by the CDRRMO (which were low-resolution and prone to being struck by lightning during bad weather), the new C3 Command Center now boasts more than 300 high-resolution CCTV cameras, according to Bonacua.
“Malinaw na nating nakikita yung mga nangyayari sa mga kalsada natin, kaya mas madali na nating nakikita yung galaw ng trapiko sa ating mga pangunahing lansangan gayundin ang mga vehicular accident,” she told OpinYon Laguna.
Biñan Agila App
However, this does not mean the CDRRMO relies on CCTV surveillance alone in its emergency response.
Through the Biñan Agila App that was launched by the city government two years ago — and re-launched last year — residents can now directly report any untoward incident such as fires, road accidents or crimes to the C3 Command Center.
"Dito po sa Biñan Agila App, halimbawa po, may nakita tayong aksidente sa labas, isang pindot lang po sa app, magsesend na po ito ng alarm sa Command Center. Tapos nakikita na rin natin sa ating mapa kung saan tayo dapat magresponde, kaya hindi po kami mag-aaksaya ng oras," Bonacua said.
"Ang maganda po dito sa Agila app ay covered na nito mula Alabang hanggang sa buong 1st district ng Laguna, kaya kahit saan po ay pwede kaming makapag-responde," she added.
Environment friendly
On a side note, the city government of Biñan is also proud of the fact that the new C3 Command Center Building incorporated environment-friendly methods of construction.
“Kung mapapansin po ninyo sa lobby ng ating command center, ang inilatag po nating mga bricks ay yung mga ‘eco bricks’ na pinasimulan po ng administrasyon ni Mayor Dimaguila,” Bonacua pointed out.
These eco bricks, made out of plastic recycled material, comprise 60 to 70 percent of the total construction material for the building, the CDRRMO head further shared.
Also included in the eco-brick materials were ashes from the eruption of Taal Volcano in 2020, which the Biñan City waste material recovery facility also converted into eco bricks.
“Hindi lamang tayo nakapagtipid sa pagtatayo ng gusaling ito, siniguro rin natin na matibay ang mga materyales na ginamit natin sa pagtatayo nito – na siya namang mahalaga dahil tayo ang pinakaunang magreresponde sa mga kalamidad,” Bonacua explained.
Benchmarker
What made the city government of Biñan most proud of is the fact that the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), one of the main agencies in charge of mitigating the risks of disasters in the Philippines, has hailed the Biñan City C3 Command Center as the role model for other disaster councils in the Philippines.
“Nirekomenda po ni Ma’am [Theresa] Escolano [the regional director of OCD in Calabarzon] na mag-benchmark ang ibang mga LGU, at makita ang Biñan City,” Bonacua related.
“Of course, ang ating mga kasamang LGU sa lalawigan ng Laguna, nagtatayo na rin ng sariling mga DRRM center, gaya ng mga lungsod ng San Pedro at Santa Rosa, at ang balita po namin ay kahit maliit lang po ang Santa Cruz ay nakapagpatayo sila ng sariling command center. Pero ang nakita po kasi ng mga OCD officials ay nakapagpatayo tayo ng modernong command center kahit na maliit ang expenses namin,” she added.
Peace of mind
For Mayor Dimaguila, who himself formed a volunteer fire brigade during his early days in politics, said expenses incurred by the local government in modernizing its DRRM capabilities is a small price to pay to ensure the safety and security of every Biñanense.
In his speech during the inauguration, the mayor said the new equipment provided by the local government for disaster risk reduction and management is essential in giving every Biñanense peace of mind and enabling them to contribute to the city’s progress.
“Noon po, halimbawa, kapag may naaksidente sa ating mga lansangan, isasakay sa tricycle o di kaya ay hihintayin pang dumating ang pulis. Ngayon, within two to three minutes naroon na ang ating local emergency responders,” Dimaguila proudly said.
“Noon, kapag may sunog dito sa Biñan City, hindi ako makatulog, kailangan ko pang pumunta sa site kasabay ng panalangin na sana dumating agad yung mga firefighters mula sa ibang lugar. Ngayon, kampante na po ako na kaya na ng ating mga firefighter at mga auxiliary volunteer natin, hindi na po ako kakabahan. At tayo pa po ang tinatawagan para tumulong kapag may nangyaring sunog o aksidente sa ating mga kalapit na lungsod.”