The Institution Building (IB) Division of the UP Resilience Institute conducted a two-day training-workshop on the crafting of the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) for the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP), UP Diliman on 17-18 August 2023. This is in line with the Resilient Campuses Program of the IB Division where they conduct capacity building activities with all of the UP Constituent Units. The training-workshop was requested by the College after the Second Quarter National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) held last 8 June.
During the first day of the training-workshop, the College’s Associate Dean, Dr. Darlene Guitierrez delivered the opening message on behalf of the CSSP’s Dean, Dr. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera. Mr. Jose Abraham C. Ongkiko, Chief Science Research Specialist of IB, gave a brief overview of the Emergency Preparedness Planning as an introduction. This was followed by the presentation of the results of College’s evaluation during the NSED by Ms. Daffodil Cleto. Further, Ms. Jerzyne Anne Corpuz presented the results of the rapid assessment conducted by the IB team in the buildings of CSSP on 25 July.
The training-workshop proper began through the discussion of Ms. Cleto on the Purpose, Objectives, and Scope of the EPP. Afterwards, Ms. Corpuz discussed Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. This was followed by a plenary workshop where the participants identified all natural and anthropogenic hazards that may affect their college. They also rated the likelihood and impact of each of these hazards on the faculty, staff, and students, properties, and operations of the College.
In the afternoon session, Mr. Ongkiko gave a lecture on the Incident Command System. In line with this, a plenary workshop was done where the participants established the Incident Management Team of the College. Afterwards, Ms. Cleto gave a brief discussion about incorporating a good communication plan for the College’s EPP. Ms. Hazel Victoriano acted as the host for the first day.
The second day started by a brief recapitulation of what was discussed during the first day of the training-workshop. Ms. Anjanette Mariano delivered the first discussion which was about Continuity Planning. She highlighted the importance of identifying mission essential functions, recovery point objectives, recovery time objectives, and continuity strategies. Two workshops were held afterwards; the first being an activity worksheet on impact analysis, and the second an activity worksheet on continuity strategies. This was followed by a discussion on the Activation Criteria, Procedures, and Authority by Ms. Mariano. The presentation focused on when an alert is activated, what happens upon activation, and who are the people in charge of initiation. Afterwards, Ms. Mariano presented the working draft of the College’s EPP encompassing all the outputs during the two-day training-workshop. With this, the participants formed the members of the committee who will accomplish the EPP. The committee will be chaired by Prof. Raymund Arthur G. Abejo.
The College decided to submit the first draft of EPP in the last week of October. They will invite the UP RI experts and PSSO to review their plan. The second draft shall be submitted by the College in the last week of November which will again be reviewed by UP RI. They agreed to submit their final draft on 31 January 2024.
The final topic discussed on the second day of the training-workshop was about the emergency survival needs and the components of a Go Bag. This session was delivered by Mr. Sonny Ongkiko. This time, the participants were allowed to draw close to the table where the components of the Go Bag were opened.
After all the presentations, Dr. Guitierrez gave her closing remarks, and expressed their’s appreciation to UP RI IB Team for their initiative in assisting UP CSSP in the crafting of their EPP. Mr. Ongkiko, on the other hand, commended their active participation during the workshops.
A total of 30 participants participated in the training workshop. They are composed of faculty representatives from the eight (8) departments of the College, administrative staff, and building administrators.
The success of the event was made possible by efforts of the College and the assistance of the UP Los Baños Student Interns: Mr. Elgene Mari Jose, Mr. Jan Rhencis Esteral, Mr. Chen Jarvi Gloriani, Mr. Kieffer Santos, Mr. Victor Carlos Tandiama, and John Russel Ting.
By Ms. Anjanette B. Mariano (August 24, 2023)
