Why Western Visayas has few trained collapsed-building rescuers

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Western Visayas remains short of collapsed structure search and rescue (CSSR) teams because few responders are trained for the work and the specialized instruction costs millions of pesos.

The shortage has prompted the Office of Civil Defense-Western Visayas (OCD-6) to urge local government units (LGUs) to invest in both personnel and equipment.

OCD-6 Regional Director Raul Fernandez said the agency has so far trained dedicated CSSR teams from three local government units: the Pavia Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO), the San Jose de Buenavista MDRRMO in Antique, and the Antique Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

Other LGUs, including Iloilo City, Aklan, and Oton, already have search-and-rescue equipment and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) capabilities, Fernandez said.

“The only thing is we still lack the skilled responders to conduct CSSR operations,” Fernandez said Wednesday, July 22.

He said the biggest obstacle is the cost of training, which can reach PHP 3 million for a 14-day course.

“That is how expensive the training is because responders undergo highly specialized instruction. They simulate collapsed structures and even construct mock buildings that meet engineering standards, including the proper specifications for concrete and structural materials. Many LGUs simply cannot afford it,” he said.

Fernandez said OCD-6 has procured CSSR equipment that will be used for future training, although more is still needed.

“It is continuous. We are still catching up. We still need to improve. That’s why we keep on encouraging our LGUs to invest in our search and rescue equipment and training, capacity building of our LGUs,” he added.

Fernandez said strengthening CSSR capability has become one of the agency’s priorities as Western Visayas continues to enhance its disaster preparedness and emergency response capacity.

He said OCD-6 aims to conduct another CSSR training program for LGUs in October 2026.

“We specifically requested funding for this because the training is very expensive … That’s one of our focuses now. That’s why we adopted this. That’s why we adopted training in CSSR. And OCD-6 itself invested in the equipment to be used during training and if we have deployments,” he added.

Fernandez said OCD-6 decided to organize the specialized training itself to expand the region’s pool of qualified CSSR responders and reduce dependence on external training providers.

He also stressed the importance of retaining trained personnel within disaster risk reduction and management offices to maximize the government’s investment in specialized training.

“One of our concerns is that we keep training people, but when administrations change, some of them are reassigned or leave. We are investing in these people, so we make sure that those who undergo this highly specialized training remain in disaster risk reduction and management,” Fernandez said.

While CSSR capability remains limited, Fernandez said nearly all local governments in Western Visayas are well-equipped to conduct Water Search and Rescue (WASAR) operations.

He credited provincial disaster risk reduction and management offices for helping ensure that local responders have the equipment and training needed to respond to floods, maritime emergencies, and drowning incidents.

“The number one hazard in the region is still flooding. But I think we can see that we are very equipped,” he added.

The gap matters because Panay Island sits astride the West Panay Fault, which the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has mapped along the island’s western side through Antique. A movement on that fault would put collapsed-structure rescue, not water rescue, at the center of the regional response.

Iloilo City has also added mid-rise and high-rise construction over the past decade, changing the kind of rescue problem a strong earthquake would present compared with a largely low-rise building stock.

Under Republic Act 10121, the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, LGUs must set aside at least 5 percent of their estimated revenue from regular sources for local disaster risk reduction and management, with the bulk earmarked for preparedness and mitigation. Whether that fund can absorb a training cost in the range Fernandez cited depends heavily on an LGU’s income class.

CSSR operations involve the rescue of victims trapped in collapsed buildings following earthquakes, landslides, explosions, or other structural failures.

They require specialized equipment and highly trained personnel, making them among the most resource-intensive emergency response capabilities for local governments.