MAYOR Honey Lacuna convened concerned local government units to assess and discuss the situation in Manila relative to the major earthquake that shook the country on Wednesday morning.
Summoned to the meeting were National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (NDRRMO) chief Arnel Angeles, social welfare department chief Re Fugoso, City Engineer Armand Andres, Department of Public Services chief Kayle Nicole Amurao and Manila Health Department chief Dr. Arnold ‘Poks’ Pangan, among others.
In the said meeting, Lacuna directed Angeles and Andres to monitor, assess and come up with a report regarding areas that have been affected by the quake, starting with the Manila City Hall itself.
Andres was specifically told to monitor and if needed, inspect buildings which may have sustained structural damage that may compromise their safety and that of the public in general.
Lacuna also ordered a check on the city’s evacuation centers to ensure that they remain structurally safe, noting that they serve as shelters for the residents in times of calamities.
The mayor also called on property owners to help the city government identify structures that have been damaged and have its engineers check on the damages to ensure the safety of the property users.
“If the earthquake produced cracks that were never there before, have your property checked for structural integrity. It is always better to be safe than sorry,” Lacuna said.
In compliance with Lacuna’s directive, Andres had already issued a memo directing all engineers assigned at the Designing Division and Office of the Building Official to conduct inspection of government and private buildings in the city and submit a report immediately.
All city-run hospitals meanwhile, were directed to report earthquake-related cases.
At the Manila City Hall, employees got out of their offices and gathered at the quadrangle until the quake stopped.
They have been trained on what to do during such incidents.
