Last Wednesday as we were going out of the subdivision we are residing in Catalunan Grande we met four fire trucks from Davao City’s Emergency Response Group (911).
We have to stop and look around to check where the fire could have hit. But when the fire trucks entered the Ruby Subdivision which is just next to where our city house is located we attempted to go back to our residence fearing that any fire at the neighboring subdivision could spread to our area considering the very hot day and the strong winds during that time.
However, we were relieved when a driver acquaintance of ours informed us that the 911 firemen were responding to a call by Ruby residents about a grass fire at its vicinity.
We have not seen the area affected but we believe that it is big because when we returned to the house after more than an hour the 911 firemen were still in the fire scene and were just starting to move out.
Good thing that Davao City has institutionalized its emergency response system and provided the office with equipment necessary to respond to any kind of emergency. The city has also provided the said unit with budget not only for its operation but also for training of personnel on the different skills needed to respond to any kind of emergency.
Today we have no doubt that the city’s emergency responders can be one, if not the best, in the country.
For now what remainS untested in the city responders’ capabilities is their skills in dealing with the “big one.” We mean, God forbid, a strong earthquake.
Of course no one among us Davaoenos is wishing the “big one” would hit our place just so our responders’ ability will be tested.
But yes, we are proud of the city’ emergency response system that has evolved from a simple idea of providing an efficient emergency communications network.
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Today Davao City is already in a frenzy as the 82nd Araw ng Dabaw celebration comes in two days’ time. The celebration on Saturday will be highlighted with a parade that will be participated reportedly by more than a hundred contingents.
During the entire week starting last Monday various activities were held including those that were initiated by the private sector.
Night life in the city this week has been so alive that no one can see any indication that Davao is very much a part of Mindanao where martial law is in place.
In other words people in the city as well as their leaders are seemingly unmindful of any possibility that some criminal elements are out to destroy the city’s peace during the entirety of the Araw celebration.
But of course who will? Everybody knows the level of preparation that the city leadership has laid down in coordination with law enforcement authorities. The organizing committee, we were informed, has left no stone unturned just to make sure that every activity of the “Araw” will have no hitch and the security provided is foolproof.
We are hoping that when the last of many activities is over not a single untoward incident will happen that can put a blot to what had been traditionally peaceful and successful celebration of the official creation of Mindanao’s premiere city.
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Davao City is unlikely to suffer the fate of Manilenos these days, they who are in the midst of suffering from the effects of almost waterless days.
The city’s aquifers are still believed to be full and its water deposits remain even if a long drought hits the entire Mindanao.
But our water concessionaire cannot remain complacent despite the perceived abundance of the life-giving liquid.
So, it is just right that the Davao City Water District (DCWD) has entered into a partnership with the Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (AAII) even this late for the supply of bulk ground water. But the alternative source of Davao’s drinking water could have come earlier had not both the national and local government regulators delayed unreasonably for almost five years their action on the permits applications for the bulk water production project.
Because of this delay the people of Davao City will have to wait until the middle of 2021 when the new water source project will be operational.
Thank God for giving Davao City a bountiful water deposit in its aquifers. There is still enough to drink and for domestic, industrial, and commercial use.
