CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – 303rd Community Defense Center (CDC) Director Lieutenant Colonel Bernard T. Ragus expressed his gratitude to Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda for her support to the disaster response of the province.
In simple rites, Lt. Col. Ragus together with Pampanga State Agricultural University President and Commander of the 303rd Ready Reserve Infantry Battalion (RRIB) Dr. Honorio Soriano handed a token of appreciation to Gov. Pineda for supporting their recently concluded Disaster Emergency Relief and Rescue Training conducted by the CDC.
Ragus said the provincial government is supportive in terms of mobilizing them in times of calamities.
“Most of our reservist came from the different towns in Pampanga. In terms of support, the governor always gives 100%,” he said.
By virtue of Republic Act 7077 or the Reservist Act, the province of Pampanga has one RRIB like that of the other provinces within the region. The Battalion is composed of 528 able-bodied reservist personnel organized into four Companies with 132 reservists each. Their deployment was based on clustered areas or municipalities that have the strategic impact on matters of Human Assistance and most importantly, in Disaster Response in partnership with Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
Since 2013, the provincial government through its PDRRMO released P401.88 billion worth of programs and projects for disaster response and preparedness.
Pampanga was named Best Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Region 3 by the Office of Civil Defense from 2013 to 2017.