DSWD Eastern Visayas, represented by Assistant Regional Director for Operations Marlene Kahano, recently attended the turnover of the Government Emergency Communications System (GECS) -Mobile Operations Vehicle for Emergency (MOVE) to the Department of Information and Communications (DICT).
The GECS MOVE is a system which allows disaster responders, including DSWD, to communicate in disaster-affected areas where communication is limited or is cut off. The system consists of three vehicles, including the “Hub”, a six-wheeler truck which functions as an Emergency Operations Center, a 4×4 dispatch and a motorcycle, both of which can be deployed on-the-ground and are capable of gathering and sending information back to the Hub. These vehicles were assembled in Dubai, through the partnership of the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) and are modular – they can be modified according to the needs of the situation.
The system also boasts an array of communication equipment, including a satellite which can provide wifi connectivity, radios using varying frequencies (HF, UHF, VHF), a mobile ad hoc network (MANET), and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which can be used to survey the disaster-affected areas. The system can be monitored by multiple CCTV cameras attached to the vehicles.
According to DICT GECS Assistant Project Manager Engr. Gladys de Ocampo, DICT is planning to have 20 of these systems stationed across the Philippines by 2024.
Meanwhile, ARDO Kahano offered her congratulations to DICT in the turnover ceremony. “With this technology, we can be assured that even in difficult situations, we will still be able to communicate. I know this GECS MOVE will be a big help in reaching our countrymen, especially those living in disaster-prone, geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. And, given our location inside the Pacific Storm Belt and the Ring of Fire, I know that there will be plenty of times when we will need this technology. Let us all remember that the ability to communicate carries with it the power of hope. Because when we are in trouble, we call for help. And when we know that our call for help has been heard, then we can hope that it will be answered.”
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