This year’s celebration of the National Disaster Resilience Month in San Pedro City, Laguna, originally scheduled for July, was postponed – with good reason.
That reason: the weeklong rains Laguna province experienced last July, a real-life litmus test for the San Pedro City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and the various barangay DRRMOs who had to deal with the effects of the southwest monsoon rains.
Still, it proved to be a bonus for the city government under Mayor Art Mercado to show the LGU’s capabilities in regards to disaster preparedness.
And although the celebration of events for the National Disaster Risk Reduction Month was postponed to August, this did not deter the CDRRMO to assess and challenge itself to prove that in terms of disaster preparedness, San Pedro City is indeed "Una sa Laguna."
From August 9 to 22, the CDRRMO hosted various activities aimed at spreading awareness among the various sectors of San Pedrense society in disaster preparedness.
These include a series of seminars on DRRM for persons with disabilities and solo parents; the Batang DepEd San Pedro Rescue Challenge on August 11, the first such contest aimed at testing the youth’s preparedness for disasters; and the 2025 Barangay Rescue Challenge from August 12 to 14, in which Barangay Barangay San Antonio was declared champion.
The winners of the various contests, as well as civic organizations who bested themselves in the field of disaster preparedness year-round, were honored during the culminating activity and symposium held at the Pacita Astrodome last August 22.
"Kabilang rin po sa mga pinag-usapan sa nasabing symposium ay ang koordinasyon, pagtutulungan at commitment ng Regional DRRMC, Provincial DRRMC, City DRRMC at mga BDRRMCs para sa disaster resiliency," city officials said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.
In his own message during the event, Mayor Art Mercado hailed the continuing efforts of the various local and barangay departments in the city to ensure that the city remains ready and responsive in times of calamities.
“Ngayong taon ay mas makahulugan ang pagdiriwang natin ng National Disaster Resilience Month, sapagkat matapos ang unos, heto tayo: buo, nagkakaisa, at handang magpatuloy. Ito ay nagmumula sa pagiging isa sa ating diwa at sa gawa,” Mercado emphasized.
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