LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu — Public school students from all over Lapu-Lapu City competed to test their knowledge and skills on disaster risk reduction (DRR) during the fourth iteration of the Lapu-Lapu City Public School Rescue Olympics.

For two days, from July 19 to 20, representatives from Lapu-Lapu City’s public schools competed in several competitions themed around disaster risk reduction and management.

For the elementary level, students competed in a slogan making contest, snake and ladder, master of disaster / survival game (millionaire’s game), emergency cooking, and water bucket relay.

Next, the junior high school level saw competitions between students for poster making, disaster risk reduction quiz bee, basic fire fighting, water bucket relay, and first aid relay.

Finally, senior high school competitors fought it out in poster making, disaster risk reduction quiz bee, basic fire fighting, water bucket relay, and basic first-aid and emergency carry relay contests.

READ: Cebu City fires: Families told to practice ‘EDITH’ to save lives

Ryan Quijano, a 44-year-old teacher from the Babag Senior High School, said that they only prepared for the Rescue Olympics competitions in just a span of a week, citing unfavorable conditions due to the recent bad weather.

Nevertheless, Babag Senior High School representatives reaped multiple awards as they won first place for the poster making and water bucket relay contests and second place finishes in the basic fire fighting and basic first-aid and emergency carry relay contests.

“This disaster risk reduction and management event is great for the youth as they learn to be responsible enough in cases of emergencies,” Quijano said in a mix of Cebuano and English in an exclusive interview with Cebu Daily News Digital.

Disaster risk reduction education

In a post-event interview with CDN Digital, Nagiel Bañacia, officer-in-charge of the Lapu-Lapu City Rescue and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), revealed that the Lapu-Lapu City government is invested in teaching the youth about the disaster risk reduction, labeling it as disaster risk reduction education.

“[The students] are taught with what to do in case there are disasters,” Bañacia said. Besides that, the students are also taught to be conscious of the environment, as most disasters are climate-related according to Bañacia.

Aside from the rescue olympics, Bañacia revealed that they are planning to implement two more education-centered initiatives: the Child-Centered DRR and a Resilience Institute in the Lapu-Lapu City College.

The Child-Centered DRR caters to kids aged three to five in preparatory schools and daycare centers where the kids are taught about DRR information through games, such as fire safety and prevention and evacuation.

“These might just be games but this information will be reinforced when they reach formal learning,” Bañacia said.

Meanwhile, with the support of the current Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” King Chan, a Resilience Institute within the Lapu-Lapu City College will be established, with a target timeline of three years.

According to Bañacia, the Resilience Institute aims to prepare college students with the right skills and knowledge — such as incident command systems, rapid disaster risk assesment, post-disaster risk assesment, and more — in case they want to pursue being a firefighter or other-DRR related professions. It is planned to be linked up with the University of the Philippines.

With their current disaster risk reduction education initiatives, Bañacia revealed that they have been reaping its rewards already, citing a case where local children in a fire-struck area in Pusok last year had already helped firefighters by tidying up the firetruck hoses.

“The [Lapu-Lapu City] government is investing in DRR education for resilience,” Bañacia said. “Mayor Cindi Chan believes that investing in education is the best strategy to become a resilient city.” /csl

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