The Philippines has strengthened its disaster response capabilities through a recent training exchange with the Canadian Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART).

The five-day program, conducted by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), focused on equipping the OCD Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) with skills in collapsed structure search and rescue, water search and rescue, and medical emergency management.

It is part of the Philippines' push for international certification under the International Search and Rescue Group (INSARAG).

OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno expressed gratitude for the collaboration, stressing its importance in enhancing the country's ability to respond to disasters and align with global standards.

"We are very thankful to our Canadian counterpart for providing us some important knowledge about preventing more any future disasters after wildfires, great floods, and landslides caused by typhoons, among others,” Nepomuceno said.

The training, which ran from 27 to 31 January 2025, was beneficial to the response and rescue team, he added. “By enhancing our technical knowledge, it gives us more time to save lives during time of calamities and disasters.”

The Canadian DART also shared expertise gained from wildfire deployments, offering potential assistance to the Philippines in future forest fire incidents.  The training highlighted the effectiveness of the OCD RDT’s water filtration systems, crucial for providing safe water during typhoons.