The Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NV-DRRMC) along with its Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Response Clusters convened its 1st Quarter Meeting for 2025, on February 19, 2025 at the Ituy Conference Hall, Capitol, Bayombong, to address critical concerns in emergency response, particularly the referral system for patient transport in both emergency and non-emergency cases.
One of the key issues raised was the delay in hospital response when emergency responders/rescuers bring patients to medical facilities. Mr. Gerry S. Daran, Municipal Fire and Rescue Risk Management Officer of Dupax del Sur, reported that responders/rescuers often experience delays as hospitals require prior calls to their hotlines before accepting patients. However, these hotlines are managed by security guards who frequently fail to answer emergency calls, causing further delays.
Daran also noted that some hospitals refuse to accept patients transported by first responders who are not affiliated with medical facilities. The existing hospital policy of “no call, no assessment” has posed criticisms to emergency medical response efforts.
These among others are the priority concerns which the NV-DRRMC needs to address. Acting Provincial Administrator Jovito O. Celestino assured the council that the PA’s Office would assist in formulating appropriate protocols. Mr. Balaw-ing stressed that “the intent of this discussion is to appraise the reality of the scenario being experienced by our responders to be able to craft an intervention that will help us solve the issue.”
Thus, members of the council moved to call for a meeting to formulate an Ad Hoc Technical Working Group (TWG) to draft a policy that would resolve the referral system challenges. This TWG will be tasked to study and identify solutions to ensure that emergency responders/rescuers can efficiently transport patients without unnecessary delays.
In addition to the referral system issue, the meeting also discussed preparations for the 2025 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) and Gawad Kalasag validation. DILG representative emphasized the importance of maintaining compliance and ensuring Nueva Vizcaya continues to meet national standards in disaster resilience and emergency response.
Mr. Balaw-ing expressed gratitude to Governor Atty. Jose V. Gambito for his support in making Nueva Vizcaya’s Gawad Kalasag rating exceed compliance standards. He highlighted that maintaining this seal is a collective effort and not solely the responsibility of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
He encourages all stakeholders, including hospitals and all medical facility in the province to actively participate in disaster preparedness programs to build a safer and more disaster-resilient Nueva Vizcaya. /gpp
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