QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista on Sunday commended the city’s disaster risk reduction and management council for its proactive approach in preparing for typhoon “Ompong.”
“I congratulate you for all your efforts in helping make our city resilient. Our early warning, preemptive evacuation and pre-positioning of assets did us well. We did our best, but we still can do better in the future,” Bautista told the council.
He thanked the personnel of the emergency services and disaster response and relief clusters for being on full alert since Friday until early Sunday evening.
Over 500 personnel from different departments of the city government and reinforced by volunteers from the military’s joint task force in the National Capital Region, Quezon City Police District, Bureau of Fire Protection and 150 2nd Army Ready Reserve Brigade were on standby and mission-ready during the full alert period.
According to Bautista, there were no reported typhoon-related casualties, except for a 10-year-old reported missing in Barangay Silangan.
At least 1,413 families or 6,266 individuals from nine flood-prone barangays sought shelter in evacuation centers and were provided hot meals by the QC Social Services Development Department, he said.
All of the city’s health centers were open 24 hours during the alert period, he added.
Meanwhile, to celebrate 100 years of Philippine cinema, the QCinema is touring Quezon City to show local independent films in public schools and barangays in an effort to inspire young people to become the next generation of filmmakers and artists.
“We are doing this roadshow to promote good cinema from local independent film makers, and to expose young people to quality film-making that delivers a good message about life,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said.
Speaking to high school students at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo High School she said, “we’re doing this all over the city for young people like you because, in the future, you may submit your creative works of art through film, so we could help you.”
The first leg of the caravan included stops in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo High School, followed by Barangay Bahay Toro High School and San Francisco High School.
Succeeding legs of the roadshow will especially target young people from impoverished areas in the city in order to inspire talented individuals who may want to explore further their skills in film and art, Belmonte said.