By the time the next super typhoon strikes Catanduanes, three mountain villages of Virac will no longer be entirely isolated, thanks to emergency communications equipment donated by the Australian government.
Last week, Australian Aid, through the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), turned over the equipment to the Virac municipal government and barangays Dugui Too, Dugui Wala San Isidro and Dugui Wala San Vicente.
Following a ceremonial turnover in the presence of Vice Governor Peter Cua, Counsellor for Development Peter Adams joined Mayor Samuel Laynes, PDRF Chief Resilience Officer Guillermo Luz, PDRF Executive Director Veronica Gabaldon, and PDRF Operations Center and Project Director Arnel Capili together with Municipal Administrator Jose Taraya, DICT and Virac MDRRMO personnel to barangay Dugui Too where the capability of the communications equipment was demonstrated in front of Barangay Captain Demcint Beo, Dugui Too ES Principal Neil Banares and other officials.
The donation was made under the PDRF’s Project REACHED (Resilient Emergency Communications for Enhanced Disaster Response), a two-year project funded by the Australian government through Australian Aid, and supported by the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), World Food Programme (WFP), PLDT Smart and Globe.
The project seeks to enhance communication through the provision of equipment at the provincial, municipal and barangay level, and build capacity by strengthening the communications capability of local government units through the capacity-building activities leading to enhanced disaster response.
The Virac LGU’s MDRRMO received a Motorola repeater, Monopole antenna tower, Motorola base station, five (5) units of handheld radio, a power generator, foldable solar panel, Starlink hardware witj 24 months subscription, access point and router, a DJI Mini drone and Samsung 5G android phone.
The repeater was installed at the communications tower at Mt. Cagmasuso in San Andres, which enables direct contact between radios at the Dugui barangays and at the MDRRMO in the población.
Training was also provided by PDRF on the use and maintenance of the equipment, Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDANA), simulation exercises, and drone use.
On the other hand, the Barangay DRRMOs of the three Dugui villages received a Motorola base station with antenna mast, 10 units of Motorola handheld radio, a portable generator, Starlink hardware with two-years subscription, and access point and router.
The BDRRMO personnel will be trained by PDRF on RDANA, use and maintenance of the equipment and simulation exercise at the local and national level.