The chief of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Dr. Anthony Damalerio cleared the air regarding the issue circulating on social about the hiring process of the said agency. The chief of the PDRRMO explained the usual hiring protocol and insists that he wants only the “best and the brightest” to join the rescue organization of Bohol.
The issue has something to do with the hiring process of members of the PDRRMO’s rescue team–the Telephone and Radio System Integrated Emergency Response (TaRSIER) 117.
Based on a post that went viral on Feb. 1, 2023, observers say that the PDRRMO allegedly hires people without proper background on emergency response, putting into question the quality of service the said agency delivers.
Damalerio made the clarifications on the hiring process during a radio interview over “Newsmakers ug Uban Pa” on Feb. 2, 2023, hosted by Ardy Araneta-Batoy and Dave Albarado.
Damalerio said that it his agency’s priority to deploy personnel who are well-trained.
He added that before a person gets accepted as a responder, the PDRRMO staff will first interview the applicant. After passing the interview stage, the applicant shall undergo a 3-week training and then he/she gets deployed as a responder.
He added that in the intial screening, once the agency detects via an interview that an applicant is unfit to join the TaRSIER rescue team, the person will not be accepted.
A background check will then follow as the PDRRMO will look at all angles to ascertain, whether or not, the applicant is a fit for the position of a responder.
He assured that the quality service of TaRSIER 117 remains unaffected by political accommodations.
THE ISSUE
This issue on the quality of the hired responders came about after a post on social media went viral. It was indicated in the post that a person who allegedly applied for work as a cook in a district hospital ended up being hired as a responder for TaRSIER 117.
“Naa q isulti pro ayaw ipakita aq nawng. Miapply q cook sa usa ka hospital ddto capitol. Gitawag nq pro diman q mahire bilang cook. Assign q nila sa tarsier 117. Diman q kahibaw ana responde2. Dawat laman nq kay need man work. Ok ra kaha na? Daghan mi jamo nahibaw an ana responde2. Apil aq mga kauban bag o, apply sila guard unta. Gidawat bilang tarsier 117 responder. Mindset nalang need work man jud,” the post said from an unknown source that went viral on social media.
Damalerio acknowledged that he saw the post on social media and he immediately convened his team at the PDRRMO regarding the matter.
He found out that some applicants submitted their application letter to the Capitol–specifically to the Office of the Governor. Damalerio said that his agency merely accepted the applicants endorsed by the Office of the Governor.
“Modawat lang mi ug applicants forwarded [to us] by the Office of the Governor,” he said.
Damalerio added: “Eventually we found out nga wala mo undergo ug initial screening through an interview kadtong 7 nga gedeploy sa usa ka sub-station. The instruction was they [personnel] were directed to undergo the training immediately. They underwent the training but from my end Ma’am Ardy (referring to Ardy Batoy, the radio anchorperson) wala to [personnel] ka agi sa initial interview which is to determine whether qualified ba gyud sila prior to actual 3 weeks training. So they did a courtesy call didto sa local chief executive and we found out ni-apply siya [one of the applicants] ug cook [nga position] in one of the district hospitals.”
Damalerio said that after that radio interview, he was scheduled to meet with Provincial Administrator Asteria Caberte on Feb. 2, 2023 and one of the talking points of the meeting was about the applicants forwarded to the PDRRMO from the Office of the Governor.
Damalerio stressed that all applicants for the responder’s position at TaRSIER 117, must first undergo an initial screening via an interview, prior to undergoing the training for 3 weeks.
The PDRRMO chief also said that prior to the training, all applicants are supposed to be subjected to a panel interview to determine his or her fitness as a responder.
He cited an incident when in one training, a trainee complained against the stress of the training. The trainee was, then, advised that the stress levels are much worse in actual emergency response situations. The pressure inside the ambulance can be tremendous and all responders need to multitask while ensuring the patient remains alive inside the vehicle.
Moreover, Damalerio said that among the 3 personnel on board the ambulance, there is a senior nurse tasked to supervise the other responders.
“In this case [the qualitication for the position of a responder], dili pwede ang cook,” Damalerio revealed. “Naa gani mi applicant [for responder] nga dili graduate ug 4-year college course,” he added.
The PDRRMO chief quipped: “We want to maintain the level of integrity and type of service sa TaRISER. Dapat naay integrity and professionalism among our employees [that] must be upheld pirme.”
ENDORSING EMPLOYEES
When asked during the interview as to who endorsed the new hires to his office without getting interviewed first, Damalerio did not divulge the identity of the person.
Damalerio also clarified that based on the existing system or hiring flow in the provincial government, the posting of available items and the hiring of personnel for TaRSIER 117 does not originate from his office.
He continued that applicants get endorsed to them from the “executive department” and the PDRRMO merely accepts those who are endorsed to them to become responders.
Damalerio emphasized that in order to maintain high quality service to be rendered by TaRSIER, applicants must undergo the typical human resource protocol, which would include the interview portion prior to the training.
Damalerio said that every applicant must undergo a screening via an interview by the PDRRMO staff. After passing the interview, the applicant undergoes training after which he gets deployed to a TaRSIER station. In the case of the responders recently deployed to a sub-station, they were never subjected to any PDRRMO interview. They were simply told to report to the PDRRMO to undergo training and then be deployed as responders after.
“No one from our team from PDRRMO and TaRSIER 117 nakahimo ug interview,” Damalerio explained.
Damalerio also said that not everyone is qualified to be a responder. A responder needs to have a specific set of skills. The responders are expected to deal with gory situations as they are expected to render service 24/7when there is a disaster or calamity.
“We have to hire the best and the brightest”, Damalerio quipped.
As far as what Damalerio knows, he said that there is a section in the Office of the Governor that screens applicants and then sends these people to the PDRRMO so they can undergo training and get deployed immediately.
FEELINGS
When ask about his feelings that his office was unable to conduct an interview to some of the deployed personnel of PDRRMO, this is what Damalerio said: “Like a good soldier, we follow orders, we follow instructions, ultimately wala man maapektohi ang among trabaho.”
He said he will find ways to boost the morale of his personnel despite the issues circulating in social media.
“What matters most is, united me ma’am (referring to Ardy Batoy) for the common good of a disaster-resilient province of Bohol,” he said.
DEPLOYMENT
In another development, Balilihan mayor Pureza Veloso-Chatto announced that there are personnel from TaRSIER 117 who are now deployed to the Balilihan sub-station. She said that there are 7 new personnel assigned in Balilihan: about 5 of them are from Balilihan, 1 responder is from Antequera and 1 is from Catigbian.
They are now joining 19 other responders already assigned in Balilihan, according to the mayor in a post on Facebook released on Feb. 1, 2023.
The mayor said that among the 7 new personnel, there is one criminology graduate, 2 high school graduates, 1 draftsman, 1 business management graduate and 1 hotel and restaurant management graduate.
The mayor welcomed the new responders as she hopes the new personnel will provide efficient and quality service within the TaRSIER 117 organization.