QUEZON CITY (November 11, 2016) — Quezon City taps UNTV News and Rescue for its disaster and emergency response, making the television network one of its four key partners to be called in times of calamities.

There are more than 100 registered organizations the Quezon City Disaster and Risk Reduction and Management Council (QCDRRMC) have pre-selected as partners for rescue and emergency response needs.

QCDRRMC Vice Chairperson and Police Chief Superintendent Elmo San Diego commended UNTV for its commitment in prioritizing saving lives more than getting and delivering the news.

“This [Tulong Muna Bago Balita] is a very noble idea and we attempted to replicate it. In fact, it was UNTV who was first to provide training for us,” said San Diego. “We started our formal training on rescue on 2011 but you [UNTV] started with the initiative since 2010.

San Diego said he and the QCDRRMC have observed how serious UNTV is when it comes to this undertaking.

UNTV News and Rescue is the first media outlet in the Philippines to provide rescue-and-emergency response training to its anchors, reporters and employees.

According to San Diego, the partnership between the QCDRRMC and UNTV includes training and capacity building for various Quezon City barangays.

UNTV will work together in partnership with three other selected partners by QCDRRMC, namely Center for Disaster Preparedness, Manila Observatory, and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation.

Quezon City is one of the Philippines’ most disaster-prone urban areas.

Started in 2010 by Kuya Daniel Razon, ‘Tulong Muna Bago Balita’ is a news-and-rescue initiative to raise awareness that saving lives is more important than news gathering or breaking news.

Written by Riziel Joanne Mercado