Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 5) — More than two years into the pandemic, the disaster management agency will resume conducting nationwide face-to-face earthquake drills, with the first scheduled on Thursday, Sept. 8.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson, Asec. Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the earthquake drill would be in partnership with the local government of Makati City.
The ceremonial area will be at the Ayala Property Management Corporation headquarters, he noted.
Alejandro said the agency will initially focus on the Makati Business Center to “check their operational plan or protocol” once the so-called Big One hits.
“We would like to remind the public of the preparations that we should be doing to prepare for the Big One,” he said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon.
The NDRRMC official said the earthquake drill is mandatory for all government agencies and public schools, especially now that more students have returned to in-person classes. But he urged the private sector to participate and conduct its own drills.
“We’d do this quarterly for them to have a sense of muscle memory in terms of doing the response during an earthquake,” he said.
Alejandro said public transportation would not be halted during the nationwide earthquake drill.
“This is a big step to normalizing our quarterly deal. Slowly bumabalik tayo sa [Slowly we’re returning to] face-to-face activities,” he added.
