Bohol’s disaster management team has boosted efforts to prepare personnel in launching a quicker response to distress calls during the three-day meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) finance ministers next week.

Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Anthony Damalerio told dyRD Balita that the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) 7 has directed them to undergo further training in preparation for the high-level meetings on September 19 to 21.

According to Damalerio, the province’s preparedness and response task group has been tasked by the OCD to lead emergency response efforts, should it be needed, during the three-day conference in the resort town of Panglao.

The PDDRMO has also undergone a series of meetings to coordinate with various government agencies and groups including the military, hotel and resort officials and municipal disaster risk management officers, said Damalerio.

Emergency responders of resorts in Panglao have also been subjected to further training by the PDRRMO.

Meanwhile, ambulances and medical personnel are being prepared for deployment during the three-day meeting, he added.

For his part, Bohol Provincial Police Office chief Sr. Supt. Felipe Natividad earlier noted that 3,000 police personnel are set to be deployed to secure the foreign dignitaries.

Police intelligence units also launched monitoring operations in a bid to quell any emerging threat that could mar the 10-nation conference. (Rey Tutas)