Exhibiting heightened skills and efficiency that brought it to the forefront of rescue efforts in various parts of the country, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority's Disaster Management Council (SDMC) reigned supreme in the 5th Regional First Aid and Basic Life Support Olympics held on Thursday at the Subic Bay Sports Complex here.
The event, which was conducted by the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council 3 (RDCC-3) in the observance of the National Disaster Consciousness Month, pitted 10 rescue teams from various provinces, cities and volunteer groups in Central Luzon.
Representatives from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the Philippine National Red Cross Region 3 (PNRC-3), and the RDCC-3 evaluated the performance of the participants.
After various events in the one-day Olympics, the SBMA Disaster Management Team, headed by SBMA Law Enforcement Department chief Vicente Tolentino, emerged as champion in the provincial level.
It also won three special awards for best situational analysis, focus on severe bleeding and bandaging; best situational analysis, focus on immobilization; and best in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and rescue briefing.
Teams from the provinces of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, meanwhile, copped the 1st and 2nd runner-up spots, respectively, in the provincial level.
In the municipal level, the disaster management team from Sta. Maria, Bulacan was adjudged the champion. The team from Bulacan, Bulacan was named 1st runner-up, while third place went to the team from Balagtas, Bulacan.
The city level, meanwhile, was topped by Palayan, Nueva Ecija, with Tarlac as runner-up.
The First Aid Olympics, an annual event held by RDCC-3, has been instrumental in improving the capabilities of rescue teams in the region, said P/CSupt. Errol Pan, PRO-3 regional director and RDCC-3 chairman.
"RDCC's well-equipped first aiders and volunteers have done well in helping save lives and reduce the effects of injury and trauma through the efficient practice of first aid," Pan said in his message read by P/SSupt. Gil Meneses, his deputy for administration.
"The First Aid Olympics provides opportunities for the participants to develop leadership skills and character," Pan also said.
Because of this skills competition, he added, rescue teams from the SBMA and Olongapo City are now considered as among the best in the country, along with those from Pasig and Makati.
Meanwhile, Neri Amparo, executive director of the RDCC, noted during the opening ceremony that continuous training in first aid is necessary among rescue teams, since lack of awareness and knowledge in basic life support (BLS) and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is common cause of death in accidents and other emergencies.
"In times of disaster, a lot of deaths could have been avoided if most of the people in the affected areas have acquired the basic techniques of first aid and CPR," she said.
The rescue and disaster management teams that competed included those from the Bulacan PDMC, Nueva Ecija PDCC, Palayan City DCC, Tarlac City DCC, Bulacan (Bulacan) MDCC, Sta. Maria (Bulacan) MDCC, Sto. Tomas (Pampanga) MDCC, Balagtas (Bulacan) MDCC, Olongapo City DMC, which was the defending champion in the city level, and the host team of SBMA, which placed second in last year's contest. (SBMA Corporate Communications)
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