Leyte (CNN Philippines, December 8) – The Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) allowing the city government of Ormoc to use its property as a temporary evacuation site and command center during calamities and emergencies with mass casualties.
The agreement, which is the first in the country, was signed by RLC operations Director Allan Anthony Armamento and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez.
Gomez said the agreement sealed the local government units’ (LGUs) partnership to be able to respond to emergency needs during calamities and disasters with the help of the private sector.
\”Here in Ormoc, we will do all that we can, use all the resources that we have, with the skill set that we have,\” she added.
Ormoc City has faced several natural calamities in the past, including the devastating flooding in 1991, the super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, and a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in July 2017.
Armamento emphasized that disaster risk reduction and management is a shared responsibility that their company is committed to support.
He added that RLC is open to replicating the same partnership with other LGUs where they have operations.
\”If there are opportunities for us to partner with other LGUs, Robinsons management is happy to support,\” Armamento said.
The signing of the MOA was highlighted by a simulation exercise joined by personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, City Health Office, Philippine Red Cross, and communication volunteers.
The simulation scenario involved a bus carrying 34 student-athletes who had attended a sports competition in Tacloban and met a vehicular accident on their way back to the city.
The rescue team efficiently set up their command center at the parking space of Robinsons Mall Ormoc, complete with triage and medical response facilities where victims were brought for medical treatment.
