#MMShakeDrill shows kinks in govt’s earthquake response

After the Metro-wide shake drills on Thursday morning and evening, Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Atty. Francis Tolentino admitted that there are still many areas of a post-earthquake rescue operations that need improvement.

Tolentino said the MMDA needs to fine tune details such as communication among the commanders of the quadrants, the metro headquarters, and the national headquarters; the integration of schools in the evacuation plan; and the linking of floating hospitals to the Department of Health.

"Konti na lang po ito. Hindi naman po ito mape-perfect sa unang gawain...Lahat ito dadaan sa documentation and evaluation, even foreign observers and military experts (mag-e-evaluate din)," Tolentino said in a Balita Pilipinas interview on Thursday.

He added that the MMDA should also improve its coordination with high-rise buildings.

"Iyong collapse structure, may gamit po tayo diyan. Maaaring sa sunog kung high-rise, marahil hindi maabot kaagad. Iyon pong koordinasyon sa private condominiums, meron pa po tayong gaps diyan. Iyong sa sunong po, malaking bagay po iyan na kailangan pa pong i-fine tune," Tolentino said.

Nonetheless, Tolentino said that he is satisfied with the eagerness of the public to participate in the drill.

"Masaya po tayo kasi ang daming participants. Ang dami pong establishments. Ang dami pong barangays, nakita ko po iyon sa aerial survey. Ang report po sa akin number one trending po ang shake drill, tinalo pa ang Harry Potter. Masayang masaya po ako at naisakatuparan po ito," he said.

In a separate interview on GMA News TV's Quick Response Team, Tolentino said that the shake drill participants in the morning were around 6.5 to 7 million.

Moreover, the number of volunteers also ballooned to more than one million from 8,000 MMDA required.

"Kasi hindi lang po mga institutional. mga organisasyon kundi iyong mga maliliit na barangay may participation. Napakalaki po ng partisipasyon kanina ng Marikina, ng Parañaque. Sa Binondo po may drill bukod po doon sa nakikita natin sa mga quadrants. Ang buong simbahan, ang Iglesia ni Cristo sumali po sila. Ang lahat po ng malls natin sumali. So, kitang-kita ko ho kasi naka-chopper po ako," he said.

"Sa tingin ko, hindi sa pagbubuhat ng bangko, naging matagumpay [ang shake drill]," Tolentino added.  

He even pointed out that the official hashtag of the event, #MMShakeDrill, trended worldwide.

"Malaking improvement po ito. Nagsimula po tayo sa zero eh. First time tayo nagkaroon ng drill in history," the MMDA chairman said.  

In an earlier interview, Tolentino called for earthquake drills to be held every year after this one.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II, who joined other Cabinet secretaries in the quake drill at the Camp Aguinaldo open grounds, said the goal of the exercise was precisely to figure out what is lacking in the national government's plan.

"We're never satisfied. We can always improve, wala naman perfection dito. Ang ginagawa natin dito, kung anong nakikita na pwede pa nating palakasin, pagsanayin, palawakin eh yun ang ginagawa kaya nagkakaroon ng drill para pagdating ng arawna hindi naman inaasahan talaga ay handa tayo," Roxas said. -Trisha Macas/NB, GMA News