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COTABATO CITY — The Office of Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) interim Parliament Member Atty. Suharto “Teng” Ambolodto in cooperation with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) successfully concluded recently a 3-day training course on basic Incident Command System (ICS).
A total of 40 participants completed the training composed of representatives from the offices of select BTA Members, 1st Marine Brigade, Marine Battalion Landing Teams’ (MBLT) 2 and 5, 6th Installation Management Battalion (6IMB), 3rd EOD Company, 6th Signal Battalion, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)- Maguindanao, BTA Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), Office of the Chief Minister-Intelligence Security Services (OCM-ISS), Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), and the local government units (LGUs) of South Upi and Datu Blah Sinsuat.
ICS is a standardized on-site management system designed to enable effective, efficient incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure. It is a standardized hierarchical structure that allows for a cooperative response by multiple agencies. ICS was institutionalized by virtue of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center (NDRRMC) Memorandum Circular No. 4, series of 2012.
Ambolodto said considering its geographical location, BARMM is exposed to natural and human-induced disasters.
Eight modules for the 3-day basic ICS training
“Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Lanao del Sur are prone to recurring disasters like flash floods and landslides aside from man-made calamities. Armed conflict is also present in some areas. On the other hand, there are threats of earthquake and tsunami in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi which are located near the Sulu trench,” Ambolodto emphasized.
The Bangsamoro legislator hopes the knowledge and skills acquired by the participants will prepare them to better manage any disaster in the future.
Facilitated by ICS experts from the OCD led by training chief Nova Eloiza Ybañez, the training course has eight modules with the following topics: Introduction to ICS; ICS Organization and Staffing; ICS Incident Facilities; Organization and Managing Incidents and Events; Incident/Event Assessment and Management by Objectives; Incident Resources and Resources Management; Incident and Event Planning; and Transfer of Command, Demobilization and Closeout.
“Through various exercises and discussions, the participants were able to demonstrate knowledge of basic ICS functions including a written Incident Action Plan and also simulated an Operational Period Briefing,” Ybañez said.
Recall that the Bangsamoro region has landlocked and sea-locked components.
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 del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the SGA’s 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided 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. (✓)