BRGY STA. RITA IS 2010 GAWAD KALASAG AWARDEE

Fresh from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Mayor James Gordon, Jr. received recently the good news that Brgy Sta. Rita grabbed the Best Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council plum over Davao City, Pasig City and the rest of the disaster response teams from the different barangays in the Philippines.

It can be recalled that the National Gawad Kalasag Validating Team composed of representatives from NDCC, DILG and ULAP visited Barangay Sta Rita sometime ago to personally evaluate the level of disaster preparedness in the said barangay.

Barangay Captain Jerome Bacay, assisted by Brgy Kagawad Eric Jahnkee, Kgd. Racquel Atienza, Kgd Virginia Bitangcol, Disaster Management Office Head Angie Layug, Councilor Ed Piano, Cob Cerudo and the Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council, presented to the validating team the mitigating measures and adaptability of the barangay to reduce risks in times of disaster.

The ‘Gawad Kalasag’ (KAlamidad at Sakuna LAban SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan) award is given to individuals, non-government organizations, private sector and government organizations in recognition of their initiative in helping the Filipino government uplift the standard of disaster management in the country and working on Disaster Risk Management (DRM).

The Gawad Kalasag is an annual Presidential Award given to the municipality/province/city which has the most exemplary Disaster Coordinating Council having the Best Contingency Plan and Disaster Preparedness/Disaster Risk Reduction Management Program.

Kalasag is a Filipino term for "shield" used by early Filipinos as a means of protection from attacks of enemies or harmful animals. Relatedly, Gawad KAlamidad at Sakuna LAban, SAriling Galing ang Kaligtasan (KALASAG) was conceived to guard and shelter high risk communities against hazards by encouraging participation of various stakeholders in designing and implementing DRM programs.

Pao/nmm