The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified and classified the Philippine Emergency Medical Assistance Teams (PEMaT) in Luzon, Metro Manila and Visayas to be compliant with international standards.
This placed the Philippines for the first time in the roster of WHO-verified international EMTs, according to Dr. Alfonso Danac, one of the team leaders of PEMaT-Luzon.
Officially, PEMat-Luzon is listed as WHO EMT No. 46. Organized by the Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH), the PEMaT-Luzon consists of 141 medical professionals from JBLMGH and the Mariveles Mental Wellness and General Hospital.
“Using the agreed standards outlined in the document “Classification and Minimum Standards for Emergency Medical Teams” (2021), the team confirms that PEMat-Luzon has demonstrated that they meet the principles and core standards of an internationally deployable EMT and the technical standards of an organization capable of deploying as an EMT Type 1 Fixed,” the five-member WHO verification team announced in a letter dated Sept. 20.
Health Secretary Ted Herbosa joined the three EMTs when the global classification was granted recently.
Danac thanked the executive committee led by Dr. Monserrat Chichioco, JBLMGH medical center chief, “for being our guide and moving force, sa inyong walang sawang pag-alalay sa PEMaT Luzon.” He also thanked department chairs and unit heads “for allowing your staff to join PEMaT and be of service to our people.”
Chichioco said the PEMat-Luzon has been preparing for the verification in the last five years. “The team’s experience in several local deployments for typhoon, volcanic eruption and earthquake taught them a lot to further improve and hone their skills in emergency response,” she said.
“Adding to that is their experience as one of the team responders of the Philippine contingent deployed internationally after the earthquake in Andyaman, Turkiye in February 2023. This deployment showed their dedication to helping those in need of medical assistance and their resilience even in adverse weather condition. I am extremely proud of the achievement of this team,” Chichioco added.
Danac also expressed gratitude to the Department of Health’s Central Luzon Center for Health Development, the Pampanga provincial government and the JBLMGH Multi-Sectoral Governance Council chaired by Dr. Ireneo Alvaro.
“Our task has now shifted to another chapter of working our way towards streamlining our logistics and processes,” Danac said.
The PEMaT-Metro Manila was organized from the Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium while the PEMaT-Visayas was drawn from the Eastern Visayas Medical Center.
