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EMO seeks assessment of response capabilities
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Posted on Mar 27 2005
The CNMI government has requested for an assessment of its response capabilities under the Emergency Management Accreditation Program to enable it to receive future funding from the Department of Homeland Security.
The Homeland Security department has mandated that all 56 states and territories obtain accreditation from EMAP as a requirement to receive federal funds, according to CNMI Emergency Management Office deputy director Mark S. Pangelinan.
Pangelinan, who is in Louisville, Kentucky, said that the CNMI’s request has been made to the EMAP office there. Pangelinan is representing the CNMI in EMAP’s accreditation manager orientation.
“The seminar will focus on the process of gaining full accreditation through the EMAP assessor team’s on-site assessment visit for an entire week,” Pangelinan said via email.
Pangelinan credited Gov. Juan N. Babauta and EMO director Rudolfo Pua for efforts to obtain EMAP accreditation long before the May 30 deadline. He said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would shoulder the costs related to the assessment.
Before EMAP conducts an on-site assessment, however, the CNMI must complete an online self-assessment of its response and preparedness capabilities. He said that other agencies directly related to emergency response would have to pool efforts for the needed accreditation.
“This is a huge task that we will need to work as a team and the approach will be to work it out as a major teamwork effort in order to gain full accreditation,” Pangelinan said.
