FPRC's Rico de Manzana (extreme right) briefsn the Lopez Group team on the ICSFirst Philippine Realty Corporation (FRPC) has put in place an Incident Command System (ICS) in Benpres Building.

FRPC president Oscar R. Lopez Jr. said the activation of ICS in the Lopez Group headquarters is part of the Group’s preparation for the anticipated earthquake known as the “Big One.”

The West Valley Fault, which runs through Quezon, Marikina, Pasig, Makati, Parañaque and Taguig cities in Metro Manila, could possibly generate a magnitude 7.2 earthquake—almost as strong as the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal in April. The East Valley Fault, on the other hand, could generate a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.

The ICS, which is activated solely as a response to disasters or emergencies, allows users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.

Initially developed to address problems of inter-agency responses to wildfires in California and Arizona, the ICS is now a component of the National Incident Management System in the US, and is the basis for similar approaches internationally.

In March 2012, the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council issued the implementing guidelines on the use of ICS as an on- scene disaster response and management mechanism.

For Benpres Building, the ICS organizational chart was introduced which specifies the series of command, control and management positions in hierarchical order of authority.

The ICS organizational chart lists the five major activities: command, operations, planning, logistics and finance/administration.

The incident commander and deputy, legal officer, safety officer, public information officer and liaison officer fall under the command section.

The operations section includes a hazard team, evacuation team, medical team and facilities management team. The planning section, meanwhile, includes the technical services team, resources unit, situation unit and documentation unit.

The logistics section includes a communication team, security team, transportation team and food services, while the finance and administration section includes an accounting unit, HR team, insurance claim unit and procurement unit.