SBMA, partner-orgs provide 10-day lifeguard training

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RPEnergy), in cooperation with the Philippine Coast Guard, Brent International School Subic, and Zambales Lifesaving Inc. (ZLI), have started a 10-day lifeguard training course for young adults and indigenous residents from the municipality of Iba, Zambales, Olongapo City, and Sitio Pastolan in Hermosa, Bataan.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Roberto Garcia said the lifeguard course would equip participants with the necessary aquatic safety knowledge and skills, which they may consider as a future profession, while they aid calamity-stricken areas in the country.

“Swimming can both be fun and dangerous, but with the presence of trained and skilled lifeguards in swimming areas such as pools and beaches, and especially during times of strong typhoons and raging floods, it can prevent the loss of lives,“ Garcia said.

Litz Santana, Meralco PowerGen’s vice president and head of External Affairs, added, “Not only does this training create the feeling of a safer and more secure community; it also creates job opportunities for certified graduates.”

Meanwhile, Roger Bound, ZLI president and program director said, “It is a great privilege for us to be able to share our expertise with those who are willing, able, disciplined, and passionate to help localities especially during calamities, which take lives and leave families heartbroken from missing love ones.”

ZLI is a non-stock, non-profit organization that was established in 2015 to promote and educate interested residents in coastal communities about lifesaving activities and drowning prevention.

Redondo Peninsula Energy, Inc. (RP Energy) is a consortium composed of Meralco Power Gen (MGen), Aboitiz Power Corporation, and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corporation, which will soon operate a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant at the Redondo Peninsula in Subic, Zambales.

The lifeguard training course will run from May 10 to 19, 2016 here in Subic Bay Freeport.

Successful candidates will be given certificates that will qualify them to serve as professional lifeguards here and abroad. The graduation ceremony will be held at Crystal Beach, San Narciso, Zambales. (MPD-SBMA)

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Philippine Coast Guard members train young adults to become certified lifeguards equipped with the knowledge and skills to save lives during times of strong typhoons and raging floods in the locality.