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BARANGAY BANGKAL, PATIKUL, Sulu — The Bangsamoro Government’s Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (Bangsamoro READi) through the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) is set to construct Sulu province’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Lawyer Naguib G. Sinarimbo, minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) visited the island province over the weekend as he met with provincial government officials led by Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan.
The Provincial Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) will serve as the primary hub for coordination in the town during an emergency, carrying out and coordinating emergency management tasks. It will act as a crucial nerve center for timely situation reports and early warning dissemination to lessen vulnerabilities and risks arising from hazards, manage their effects, and facilitate resource mobilization during emergencies and disasters.
Bangsamoro government to construct EOCs in BARMM’s SGA, too
Sinarimbo, the spokesperson of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) who also heads the Bangsamoro READi, pointed out the establishment of an EOC in Sulu will allow the BARMM government to quickly deploy emergency responders and relief assistance in the event of a disaster.
“According to the standard operating procedure (SOP) as outlined in the disaster risk management flow, local government units will take the lead in their respective areas, so the operation center would simply support the provincial DRRM in the province,” Sinarimbo explained.
The MILG minister said Tan donated 500 square meters of private land for the EOC’s construction.
Sinarimbo lauded Tan’s generosity as he thanked him, emphasizing the Bangsamoro government headed by Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim is was deeply appreciated.
The MILG head said once the infrastructure project is completed, the province will be able to improve the government’s ability to plan for and respond to potential compound emergencies, whether man-made or natural disasters. The Bangsamoro Appropriations Act (BAA) 2023 has provided a budget of Php20 million for the construction of the EOC. Construction is expected to be completed this year.
Other EOCs that have been approved and have budgets for this year include those in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) and Lanao del Sur.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao (now split as Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte), Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the 63 barangays or villages dubbed Special Geographic Area (SGA) that voted “yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)
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Source: MILG