MANILA, Feb. 1 -- Twenty personnel of the Tanay-based 2nd Infantry Division were given various disaster response training by the 525th Engineer Combat Battalion on Jan. 30.

"The 20 personnel underwent lectures and practical exercises on basic incident command system, hazardous material awareness, emergency medical response, rope rescue techniques, and collapsed structure search and rescue," PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Wednesday.

The 525th Engineer Combat Battalion, also known as "Mandirigtas" (a combination of "mandirigma" or warrior and "manliligtas" or savior), is the PA's primary humanitarian assistance and disaster response unit.

The training was held at the 2nd Infantry Division headquarters in Camp Ge...