Vigan City – Seven (7) members of the Vigan Emergency Response Team (VERT) represented the City Government of Vigan in the 4th Gov. Ryan Singson Rescuelympics and went on to bag the championship in this annual competition from December 6 to 8, 2018 at the Provincial Motorpool Compound in Tamag, Vigan City.
The Provincial Government of Ilocos Sur under the leadership of Governor Ryan Singson held the annual competition in an effort to strengthen the capabilities of every responder in each of the cities and municipalities of Ilocos Sur. Through different events that showcases Emergency Medical Management, Search and Rescue Disciplines, the participating responders were able to share and gain inputs in response measures to improve the current status of their DRRM resources. It also presented an opportunity for the responders to establish linkages and camaraderie anchored on their collective mandate to keep their LGUs safe and disaster resilient.
In an effort to standardize, decrease its response time and level up the capabilities of first responders, the participants competed in different events such as Urban Navigation, Rescue Maze, Urban Search and Rescue and the Obstacle Run to test their knowledge and skills in rescue operations. Team Vigan outplayed their counterparts in most of the events in a display of what they have acquired from their continuous training and exposure to emergency response work.
Mayor Juan Carlo Medina designated the following members of the Vigan Emergency Response Team to comprise the city’s contingent: Jordan Christopher Soria and Allen Ablog of the CPSDRRM Office, Paolo Aquino and Justine Vargas of the City Health Office, Rommel Agapinan of Vigan Convention Center, Fidel Amano Jr. of the General Services Office and John Peter Fernandez of the Playa De Oro Resort. The city responders have always considered the Vigan chief executive as their firmest supporter.
Vigan as Champion received Rescue equipment and materials worth 100 Thousand Pesos. In second and third are Sta. Lucia (with 50 thousand pesos worth of equipment/materials) and Cervantes ( with 25 Thousand Pesos worth of Rescue equipment/materials), respectively.
For the National Government Agencies’ category, the Bureau of Fire Protection emerged as 2018’s best.
During the Awarding Ceremonies, Mrs. Milagros C. Alquiza, CPSDRRM Officer of Vigan, in her acceptance speech, thanked Gov. Ryan Singson and the PDRRMC and emphasized that empowerment of Local Government Units should be a priority of the Council through continuous capability enhancement activities, funding assistance and provision of additional equipment to strengthen its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Programs.