WV holds 1st Army Rescue Olympics in Iloilo
The successful two-day 1st Philippine Army Rescue Olympics in Western Visayas commenced yesterday following a program at the headquarters of the 6th Regional Community Defense Group (RCDG), Army Reserve Command in Camp Hernandez, Dingle, Iloilo.
The first-ever Army Rescue Olympics saw participants from three (3) teams from the 3rd Infantry Division, several ROVER Teams from twenty-six (26) schools, and DRRO Teams from three Ready Reserve Brigades and six Ready Reserve Battalions.
The ROVER teams are composed of ROTC cadets undergoing Reserve Summer Camp Training at Camp Hernandez, Dingle, Iloilo.
During the opening ceremony last Tuesday, Department of National Defense Undersecretary for Civil, Veterans & Reserve Affairs, Secretary Ernesto Carolina, who represented DND Chief and National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Chair Secretary Norberto Gonzales, spoke before participants and other attendees.
He stressed the important role of our Army Reservists in disaster response and rescue citing their prominent role during the wake of Typhoon Frank.
For his part, 6RCDG commander Colonel Daniel dela Cruz said that one outstanding capability of the local reserve force lies on its disaster relief and rescue competency.
“We want really to organize and train them so that they will be capable rescuers,” he said adding that the activity now becomes a pro-active preparedness.
It was gathered that the competition was envisioned and conducted in joint effort with the Office of Civil Defense (Region 6), the Negros Rescue Federation, and the Philippine National Red Cross.
It was aimed as is a proactive approach in Disaster Risk Management in order to ensure the readiness of the ROTC Units and Army Reserve Units in disaster preparedness and response in support to the AFP’s Disaster Response Task Force (AFPDRTF) and the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) for the conduct of search, rescue, evacuation and relief operations in Region VI in the event of disaster or calamities.
The main objective of the competition was to enhance the level of skills in Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) and to ensure and sustain the operational readiness of the ROVERs and DRRUs of our Ready Reserve units in Western Visayas. As a competition, the activity aims to foster the spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie among the ROTC cadets Reservists and other guest participants and to strengthen the communication and linkages among partner agencies with the RDCC.
Competition events included Vehicular Accident Patient Extrication, Emergency Rescue and Transfer (ERT) Relay, and Community Fire Fighting (Bucket Brigade). The Rescue Olympics was conducted as a two-day event with participants organized into nine-man teams totaling thirty-two competing teams. The nine-man teams were organized as follows: Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader/Safety Officer, Communications Officer, Medical Officer, Triage Officer, Logistics Officer, Records Officer, Staging Officer, and Transport Officer.
“We envisioned the Philippine Army Rescue Olympics to be a recurring activity to be participated in by not only our Army Reservists but our ROTC students as well. The first in its kind here in Region 6, this activity exemplifies the commitment of our citizen soldiers in their primary role in Disaster Rescue and Relief Operations,” said 3ID public information officer 1Lt. Mark Andrew Posadas.
He added that the Western Visayas’ experience with Typhoon Frank and Typhoon Ondoy have taught the Army that they have the skills and resources and that we can be relied upon by the public when disaster and calamity strikes.
