Very soon, the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) will be conducting trainings down to the barangays for responders in cases of emergencies, calamities, rescue operations and peace and order situations, said Gov. Edgar M. Chatto. The Chatto-Lim Administration’s overarching development framework of HEAT Bohol LIFE HELPS which encompasses everything from health and education down to youth development and peace and order situations is now focusing on its Countryside Development Program. Aptly called Purok Power Movement (PPM), the PGBh’s “soldiers for progress,” the Prosperity Teams (PRO-TEAMS), are currently conducting peace and development operations in the barangays to empower communities from the Purok level for sustainable development and just and lasting peace. Gov. Chatto, seeing that Bohol does not need a one-shot solution but a well-put plan which could withstand calamities and time, has awakened the Purok level in our barangays which has laid dormant for a long time to strengthen the people within.

“Please do understand that this is NOT a dole-out; the purok is empowered to solve its own problems,” Chatto clarified. “This is why we are making people see that every problem is everyone’s concern, every solution imminent if everyone is involved.” These PRO-TEAMS are now packaging the trainings “in coordination and in relation to peace-keeping efforts by giving lightning-fast response to calamities in every nook and cranny of the province.” In line with the mandate of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II, also the Peace and Security Cluster Head, gathered all national, local, line agencies and even the academe Thursday to discuss with everyone the importance of fast response to mitigate emergency and life-threatening situations. Damalerio expounded on the flow of information from the time it is first received by the Telephone and Radio Systems Integrated Emergency Response (TaRSIER 117) and the path it takes to reach the proper agencies concerned for fast action and proper solution. It is the mandate of TaRSIER 117, which was created via Executive Order (EO) 7-A, to adopt a holistic, comprehensive, integrated and pro-active approach to emergencies to lessen the socio-economic and environmental impacts of disasters including climate change and promote the involvement and participation of all sectors and all stakeholders concerned, especially the Local Government Units (LGUs).

Understanding this, Chatto is committed to lessen crime volume in the province and mitigate disastrous situations by laying down a strong foundation in the heart of the community to make people see how awareness can ease the burden of calamities and criminalities. Thus, the collaborative efforts of TaRSIER 117 and the PPM. The Philippines is sitting on the typhoon belt of the Pacific Ocean and on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making the entire country, including Bohol, extremely vulnerable to typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, floodings and storm surges, a fact worsened by the deteriorating condition of the environment and the dwindling natural resources of the country. For the last four decades, tropical cyclones, floods, flashfloods, fire, earthquakes and armed conflicts are the top hazards afflicting the Filipinos, incurring billions of pesos of damage every year. The Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO) under Col. Constantino Barot, Jr., and the 802 nd Brigade of Col. John Bonafos have their own versions of the PRO-TEAMS: the Barangay Peace-Keeping Action Team of the PNP composed of barangay tanods and interested individuals; and the Peace and Development Teams (PDTs) and the Community Organizing for Countryside Development of the 802 nd, respectively. All these being put into action, the police and the military, and even the private sector, couldn’t agree with each other more that Bohol is the country’s best-governed province for nothing. (jlv/EDCom)