The Department of the Interior and Local Government XII showed its unending support to the annual activity of the Office of Civil Defense XII, 2018 SimEx and Competency Test: Simulation Exercise for Emergency Response to Flooding and Landslide Incidents during its opening programme on May 21, 2018 at the 1002nd Infantry Brigade, Barangay Batomelong, General Santos City.

In his welcome message, RD Reynaldo M. Bungubung, CESO IV, recognized the dedication and invaluable help of the search and rescue teams in giving timely response to any untoward incidents and disasters in their respective LGUs. Further, he challenged the twenty five (25) participating teams to compete with all their might and consider the inputs of the facilitators for their improvement in responding to disasters. 

The four-day activity which will end on May 23, 2018 is an initiative of the Office of Civil Defense XII, in partnerships with volunteer organizations such as the Philippine Red Cross and other NGAs such as the Department of Health, Philippine Army, and Bureau of Fire Protection to assess the competencies of the trained search and rescue teams to respond to disasters prevalent in the Region.
 

(RELMIE T. TAMSON ​)