The local government of Calinog, Iloilo has been training its first responders in far-flung upland barangays to become a disaster-resilient town.

In an interview Friday, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) officer Rodolfo F. Valencia said they have the training to capacitate barangay tanod (village security) and officials of mountainous barangays on basic life support (BLS).

“Since they are in far-flung areas, they should have first responders,” he said.

The town has 59 barangays, 13 of which are in remote and mountainous areas.

The town’s farthest barangay is around 30 kilometers away from the town proper.

He said all barangays should have rescue capability.

Once they have acquired the equipment, they will undergo training on rescue and response, he said.

Barangays are assessed to determine their capability in using their equipment. If they have the equipment but are not complete, then the local government would come in to help them.

“We want all our barangays to have trained responders and equipped. With that we can say that we are a resilient municipality,” he said.

To date, they have trained responders in Baragays Alibunan, San Nicolas, Malapawe, Mambiranan, Tibiao, Cabagiao, Ilawod, Aglunok, Hilwan, Caratagan, Marandig, Manaripay, Supanga, Tigbayog, and Binolosan Grande.

The BLS training covers among others basic first aid skills such as bandaging, splinting, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The number of responders is dependent on the number of their barangay tanod while all barangay officials are automatic responders.

Valencia said with the direction of Mayor Francisco Calvo, they would like to “level-up” next year by training all barangays near the river on water search and rescue (WASAR), particularly on the use of rope rescue.

“What I can commit is that we will share with them whatever knowledge we have at the MDRRMO. There is no exception,” he said. (PNA)