Kalibo, Aklan - The municipality of Kalibo, Aklan's capital town, has now a reorganized Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC).
The reorganization of the council was made possible through Executive Order No. 004 issued by Kalibo mayor William S. Lachica dated July 20, in time for the country's observation of Disaster Preparedness Month.
The issuance of the executive order is pursuant to Section 4 & 5 of Ra 1190 otherwise known as Civil Defense Law, which mandates that the Municipal Mayor is the Civil Defense Director of the municipality and is responsible for the establishment, coordination, supervision and direction of the Civil Defense organization in the community during times of disasters, calamities and emergencies.
Mayor Lachica said the reorganized MDCC will oversee the status of the municipal disaster risk reduction and preparedness programs, disaster response, relief operations and rehabilitation activities by the government and private sectors; evaluate information and advise the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council on disaster situation and recommend appropriate measures; and perform other functions as may be required by the PDCC/RDCC and NDCC.
The council, according to Mayor Lachica, will be composed of the Municipal Mayor as Chairperson, the Chief of Police of the PNP as Vice Chairperson and Action Officer and the Civil Defense Deputized Coordinator as the Head of the Secretariat.
The council will also be composed of representatives from the private sector, organic municipal officials whose departments are tasked with specific emergency functions as well as national officials assigned in the municipality.
The council will also establish an operating facility to be known as the Disaster Operations Center located at the municipal building and an alternate DOC located at the police station.complete with communication systemand rescue operations equipment where activities in the field will be monitored and controlled.
With the organized council, Mayor Lachica said he has invited members from various organizations to be part of Kalibo's Team in order to solicit bright ideas to explore and integrate views of people from various walks of life and thus chart the progress, and safety of Kalibo in times of disasters, man-made or natural. (PIA/Venus G. Villanueva)