Recognizing the heightened vulnerability of schools in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas during disasters, the Pisompongan Integrated School (PIS) in Midsalip town, Zamboanga del Sur, conducted over the weekend a two-day emergency response training, transforming teachers, students, and community volunteers into first responders.
Pisompongan Integrated School is 20 kilometers away from the Midsalip town center.
Located far from the town center where emergency services and communication are often delayed, the remote school hosted the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management training to ensure local residents can manage life-threatening incidents on their own when help is out of reach.
‘For us at Pisompongan Integrated School, preparedness goes beyond conducting drills. It means preparing our teachers and learners to act when help is far away and every second matters,’ school principal Gideon Goc-ong said.
‘In our community, where access and communication can be challenging, being prepared is not just a responsibility; it is a commitment to protect life,’ Goc-ong added. ‘Because at PIS, we prepare not only to survive, but to help others survive, too.’
The two-day workshop, which wrapped up on Saturday, Oct. 17, equipped participants – representing five neighboring barangays- with practical skills in emergency response, mass incident management, and basic life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The initiative was organized in partnership with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the municipal local government, the Reservist Army, and the barangay local government unit.
Following their accreditation, the newly-certified community responders will undergo frequent unannounced and simultaneous mass-incident drills to test their readiness in real-time emergency scenarios.