Local government units (LGUs) and national government agencies (NGAs) in Western Visayas (Region 6) are urged to develop and submit public service continuity plans (PSCP) to avoid disruption in the performance of their functions amid crises and disasters.
Bago City in Negros Occidental is the only LGU in Region 6 that has submitted a PSCP to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD-6).
“It is very important to develop a PSCP so that our services to the public will not be disrupted. Even in disaster, we will have continuous services to our constituents,” OCD-6 Regional Director Raul Fernandez said in an interview.
Fernandez was a co-presiding officer in the joint meeting of the Regional Development Council-6, Regional Peace and Order Council-6, and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council-6 at the L’ Fisher Hotel in Bacolod City on Thursday, July 18.
Public service continuity is the capability of a public sector organization to continue the delivery of services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident.
In her presentation, Civil Defense Officer IV Melissa Banias said that in carrying this out, an LGU or regional line agency should prepare and submit a PSCP.
The PSCP is a document containing strategies and mechanisms of a government agency or organization to ensure continuous delivery of services to the public amid any disruption.
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Memorandum No. 33, series of 2018, urged all government member agencies of the DRRMCs to develop their PSCPs while the Office of the President Cabinet Action/Decision issued on June 10, 2019, directed government agencies to craft and submit the PSCPs to the OCD.
During the joint meeting, the three councils passed a joint resolution requesting the Department of the Interior and Local Government to require the LGUs to develop and submit their PSCPs to the OCD-6.
Another joint resolution was approved, recommending before the NDRRMC/OCD central office through the OCD-Capacity Building and Training Service to expedite the approval of the face-to-face training package for PSCP.
Also requested was the training of trainers to create a regional pool of trainers who will capacitate the LGUs and NGAs in Western Visayas in developing their respective PSCPs. (PNA)