By SHIELA MAE BUTLIG
Correspondent
NONE of the capitol’s rescue team members have been required to show proof that they are physically fit for the strenuous work of keeping people out of harm’s way, the head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said yesterday.
Fernando Vincent Dy, officer in charge of the PDRRMO, disclosed this days after a member of the provincial government’s rescue team died while taking part in a rescue drill at the back of the capitol on Friday afternoon.
The worker, 53-year old Allan Gaylawan of Barangay Lapasan, passed out on top of the reservoir at the back of the capitol apparently due to a heart attack triggered by a strenuous rescue exercise. The unconscious Gaylawan was subsequently rushed to the nearby Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) where he was declared dead on arrival.
The Gaylawan case highlighted the kind of hazards the capitol rescuers are being exposed to, and the risks that their office has not been reducing but which they have to face and accept as part of their work. They are not even entitled to hazard pay.
Dy admitted that Gaylawan and other capitol rescuers were not required to undergo medical examinations or submit medical certificates before they were admitted to the PDRRMO team.
The middle-aged Gaylawan himself wasn’t a member of the rescue team when he joined the capitol seven months ago.
Dy said he took Gaylawan from another capitol office, and made him work in the PDRRMO.
There was no effort to check if the overweight middle age worker can perform the tasks of a rescuer.
“Gikuha lang siya because of his expertise on rescue maneuvers, including water safety and rescue training,” he said.
According to Dy, there is no need to make a physical examination or a medical certificate a requirement before anyone gets admitted to the capitol rescue group.
He said any worker assigned to the PDRRMO is obliged to undergo the strenuous trainings that are part of their work. He said anyone who wants to be assigned to the PDDRMO should think twice.
Dy said Gaylawan suffered what appeared to be a heart attack at around 3:20 pm Friday.
Gaylawan, he said, was merely assisting other rescue team members in a rappeling exercise, making sure that their straps were secured.
After the exercise, Dy said, Gaylawan climbed the water tank in order to clean up.
He claimed a co-worker, Edgar Cagalawan, volunteered to do it but Gaylawan allegedly told him that he would take care of it alone.
Upon reaching the top, “didto na dayon sya murag gi-atake,” said Dy.
He said Cagalawan rushed to the top to help Gaylawan, and three minutes later, two people from the Philippine National Red Cross came to help in trying to revive Gaylawan.
“Si Cagalawan ang una nag mouth-to-mouth resuscitate sa iya kay zero gyud iyang heart rate,” said Dy.
A rope was tied around the unconscious Gaylawan in order to bring him down from the reservoir.
All these happened while the capitol workers busied themselves with the Friday “hataw” or physical exercise activities.
Dy also revealed that a day before the worker died, Gaylawan participated in another strenuous Water, Search, and Rescue (Wasar) training, and was in high spirits that he joined other workers for a “videoke” session afterwards.
On Friday, Gaylawan’s remains would be brought to the capitol because that, supposedly, was a wish he told his wife Maryknoll about, according to capitol spokesperson Nicole Managbanag. He would be laid to rest the following day.
Gaylawan is survived by Maryknoll and his three sons: Aldrin, Aldous, and Mods Alwin.
Because Gaylawan was a nonegular worker at the capitol, his family would not be entitled to the regular benefits from the government.
But Dy said Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano has given the Gaylawans financial aid and assured that the funeral expenses would be taken care of. Emano also offered one of Gaylawan’s sons work at the capitol.
Provincial board member Gerardo Sabal said there was a need for PDRRMO workers to be entitled to hazard pay given the risks they are taking.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
