ASSEMBLY. NSTP educators and implementers from different universities and colleges in Northern Mindanao gather for their ninth regional assembly. Supplied photo.
By Lea Caburatan
Xavier University National Service Training Program (XU-NSTP) recently participated in the 9th Regional Assembly of the NSTP Educators Association in Region 10 (NEAR-10), held at the Grand Caprice, Cagayan de Oro City.
This year’s assembly centered on the theme “NSTP: Reloaded, Redefined, Redirected” where NSTP educators discussed the direction of the program and the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) in their respective schools.
ASSEMBLY. NSTP educators and implementers from different universities and colleges in Region 10 gather for their ninth regional assembly. Supplied photo.
Knowledge and practice
During the opening program, Melanie Jel Gamat, training section chief and focal person for gender and development of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), presented an overview of DRRM and how NSTP could bridge the gap between knowledge and practice, preparedness and response.
John Banaynal, OIC director of Commission on Higher Education (Region 10), explained the exemption of Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials from taking the Civic Welfare Training Service (CWTS) component of NSTP, the implementation of the mandatory Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) in senior high school, and the recognition of graduates of the CWTS and Literacy Training Service (LTS) components by the OCD as part of the National Service Reserve Corps (NSRC), as stipulated in the implementing rules and regulations of the Philippine DRRM Act of 2010 (RA 10121).
Maj Hermie P Pava (Res) PA, president of the Philippine Society of NSTP Educators and Implementers (PSNEI), for his part, clarified that CWTS and LTS are also geared toward training the students as lay rescuers or responders during disasters.
SAVE A LIFE. NSTP educators and implementers undergo a hands-only CPR training with the Philippine Heart Association (Northwestern Chapter). Supplied photo.
On DRRM training
Jimmy Macababat and Christopher Dale Vallejos of the Philippine Red Cross zeroed in on the Philippine DRRM Framework, its thematic areas, emergency preparedness and response measures, as well as gender sensitivity in disaster management and child protection policy.
Philippine Heart Association (PHA) Northwestern Chapter president Dr Roy M Sasil also demonstrated hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as part of the First Aid and Basic Life Support Training (RA 10871).
Other topics included Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) by Meiyoshi Masgon of the Sustainable Sanitation Center of Xavier Ateneo’s Jose P Rizal School of Medicine, and Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) and key implementation issues and requirements in disaster management by Engr Jefferson Vallente from the Engineering Resource Center (ERC) of XU College of Engineering.
Xavier Ateneo’s NSTP director and NEAR-10 president Dennise S Gonzales also gave an orientation on the NSTP Module on DRRM as part of CHED’s mandate to all higher education institutions to implement a DRRM program.∎
DRRM PROGRAM. Xavier Ateneo’s NSTP director and NEAR-10 president Dennise S Gonzales discusses the NSTP module on Disaster Risk Reduction Management. Supplied photo.