DAVAO CITY – Rescuers and persons with disability (PWD) received rescue training from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) in Davao del Norte to help PWDs reduce their vulnerability and build their resilience during calamities.
The training was attended by rescuers from various local government units including members of the PWD sector headed by Engr. Darlito Palermo, the regional PWD sectoral council member from the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
Palermo said the training will help “include PWDs in crafting the plan of the province’s risk reduction and management office”. He said it will also equip responders with the knowledge on how to assist PWDs during calamities.
“Our problem in terms of inclusion and participation of PWD’s in Risk Reduction and Management is the preparation of responders to accommodate the PWD sector,” Palermo said in a Philippine Information Agency dispatch.
Romulo Tagalo, executive director of the Climate Change Adaptation-DRRM also said that this endeavor “is their first engagement with the persons with disability as they are truly vulnerable during disasters”.
“The DRRM is not to rescue the physically able but to understand the different needs of the people,” said Tagalo.
Part of the said training “was to have an idea how to live like a PWD. Physically able responders tried to become blinds, deaf and relying on a wheelchair for accessibility”, the provincial information office said.
“We saw that it is not easy to be blind, deaf or wheelchair-bound in asking for assistance in our government office this is a big wake up call for us. We need to prioritize them. Our PWDs are among the missing statistics in DRRM,” said Tagalo. (davaotoday.com)
