BSP EMERGENCY SERVICE CORPS, OF DAVAO CITY volunteer service for the benefit of a community Many of the dead were never identified. Maj. Gen. Escudero, Mr. Jose A.
BRIEF HISTORY OF [ EMERGENCY SERVICE CORPS ]
Ideas and organizations are born out of necessity. This has been the case of the BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA who then conceive of creating a corps of young adults and adult scouts who responded to the call of the American President’s call to active service in times of war, it was between 1940’s to 1950’s, in close coordination with the American Red Cross and
the Office of Civil Defense Mobilization in America where the Boy Scouts of America, with its’ newly conceived Emergency Service Corps served in three capacities: messengers, emergency medical unit assistants, and fire watchers. An Emergency Service Corps member is identified by a special seal, in their case a red arm band worn at the right arm. One of the Philippines' deadliest earthquake disasters toppled the Ruby Tower building located in Binondo, Manila. The earthquake occurred on August 2, 1968, measuring 7.3 magnitude in the Richter scale. Several buildings were damaged by this strong earthquake but none suffered complete destruction as had the Ruby Tower, a condominium in Binondo mostly populated by Chinese-mestizos. More than 270 died in the collapse of the Ruby Tower, and more than 261 were injured. The epicenter was located in Casiguran, Quezon (now part of Aurora province), although it was Manila that was severely hit. This was the most destructive earthquake in the Philippines during the 20 years before the 1990 Luzon earthquake. In addition, the earthquake generated a tsunami that reached as far as Japan. There was an allegation that the Ruby Tower was poorly built and the materials were of low-quality. The Philippine government was helpless at that time, when rescue operations ended on Aug. 9, 1968, the official death toll stood at 268. Gaudencio Tobias, then Armed Forces vice chief of staff and head of the Ruby Tower rescue efforts, declared that tenants who remained unaccounted for “might have escaped on their own or with the help of their neighbors shortly after the building collapsed.” When the Ruby Tower collapsed in 1968, the government’s lack of interest in disaster management was somehow reversed. Later that year, the Marcos administration put up the National Committee on Disaster Operation which shortly afterward transferred its functions to the newly created Office of Civil Defense. Next came the National Disaster Control Center, the forerunner of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the highest policymaking body on disasters in the country. On the part of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, there were some individual scouts who went there on their own to assist and render service, few of them were given Bravery and Heroism award for responding to the call of duty, (one can check the names of some scouts and scouters who received such distinction in the BSP website, I think they’ve posted some). But the BSP as an organization was not able to mobilize its units to render service, it was only on a later part of the rescue, retrieval and relief operations that scout units begun to see action. But unfortunately it was too late. After that painful event, the government took Disaster Management seriously. The Office of the Civil Defense was formed, it was composed of Government and Non-Government Organization who will work together in times of emergencies, disasters and calamities meaning, pre-disaster, during and post disaster planning and execution. Although the BSP is a part in that government umbrella, the task was so minimal, it was only limited to traffic, cordon and crowd control and evacuation. That was the set up then. Whenever, an emergency strikes, the BSP is expected to do their part as mentioned earlier. While in some parts of the country particularly Davao City Council , it was only in the later years that these areas were given Council status but during that time it was the Golden age of Davao City Council); a group of highest holders and front-liners in scouting in Mindanao thought of coming up an Organization similar to that of the Boy Scouts of America, as we all know, BSA has great influence in the Philippine Scouting. The idea of Emergency Service Corps is not alien to them, until ES Antonio T. Uy (recently served in the highest office in the BSP like National Commissioner, a 4 beads holder, and a distinct Grand Master Mason and a 33 degree),(DAVAO CITY NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL Scoutmaster Romeo U. Alag and has served in high position in terms of Training a 4 beads holder), Quezon Modo, Arsenio Suero, Agapito Dasmarinas, FSE now Deputy Secretary General Ernesto C. Baluyot, Rudolfo Cabe Sr., Rosario Bagasol,Rex Cayot ( Elementary Scoutmaster), ES Vic Serrano now the EMR Director, Alfredo D. Catacutan now the CSE of Biliran, Former Secretary General Carlos C. Bose, Mr. Tompong, Mr Jun Sahagun, Rev. Fr. Paul D. Guilbault, PME and many other outstanding men in Davao City Council conceived a pilot Emergency Service Training Course or ESTC and they themselves tested it. They have invited government and non government agencies as their resource speakers and trainers such as the BFP, the PC-INP, Ministry of Health and other related service agencies. They’ve equipped themselves and are ready to respond in any disasters and calamities in the region. They even made the Council Headquarters as the ESC Headquarters where every night a crew of scouts took turns having their duties. In fact the Chinese community Fire Service know as Davao Volunteer Fire Brigade commissioned 1 unit of Firetruck and Rescue Van for their use. They were efficient and capable at that time broadening the scope of their services from traffic and crowd control to Rescue, Medical Services, Evacuation, Relief and other components of Disaster service. The ESC at that time is distinguished by the color of their neckerchief, they were then wearing a yellow neckerchief with red prints using the same seal of the BSA ESC. At that time the then Secretary General Cesar Javier followed by Secretary General Col Cesar C. Batilo formally institutionalized the Emergency Service Corps under the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and to use the Emergency Service Training Course as a training tool for the boys who wish to become an ESC scout. So, the first pioneering batch of Emergency Service Instructors Course was conceived to start the dynamism for other Council to replicate the ESC model of the Davao City Council. At that time, the ESC scout is distinguished to wear a red neckerchief with still the BSA ESC logo, and they are only allowed to wear it in times of emergencies and of course in full scout uniform. Until, it evolved to be now as the modern time Emergency Service Corps with modifications in the training design and including the logo being used. (The writer is a former Emergency Service Corps Commander of Davao City Council from 1986 to 1995 and has closely worked with the ES Antonio T. Uy and Romeo U. Alag LT along with some surviving ESC members…the account was based on their stories as relayed in every ESTC we have had conducted in the Eastern and Western regions, often time, the writer served as Instructor and Senior Crew Leader in the training.) What are the Principles of Emergency Service Corps? It can be summarized as V.O.I.C.E. Voluntary, Organized, Immediate, Cohesive and Exemplary Service. The Emergency Service Corps is supposed to be the elite unit of the BSP to respond to any form of emergencies, disasters and calamities. INFO from SCOUTER EBERHARD CAJILOG
