Rescue teams from across Western Visayas will converge in Pototan, Iloilo on August 24–25 for the Regional Rescuelympics 2025, a large-scale disaster response competition designed to test the ability of local responders to work together across municipal boundaries.
Organized by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD-6) in partnership with local governments, the event will gather rescue teams from Iloilo, Negros Occidental, and other provinces to compete in water and collapsed structure rescue, vehicle extraction, emergency communications, and air-to-ground operations.
Officials said the Rescuelympics goes beyond showcasing skills. It provides a real-time test of interoperability, a critical component in disaster operations where responders from different municipalities and provinces must often work side by side. Fraye Cedrick Anona
“Responders will come from different municipalities, so this is about testing whether they can harmonize their training under one incident command system,” said Alfonso Baldonado III, chief of the administrative and training division of the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
OCD-6 Director Raul Fernandez said the event underscores the strategic importance of regional collaboration, citing Western Visayas’ vulnerability to natural and human-induced hazards. “This platform goes beyond competition. It is about knowledge sharing, camaraderie, and strengthening the region’s disaster response at the local level,” he added.
