By PNA and U.S. News Agency / Asian

A command center equipped with a reliable communication and warning system and surveillance cameras are just some of the Cebu City Government’s needs in responding to disasters.

Cebu City Michael Rama said he will include these items in the list of needed equipment that he will submit to President Benigno Aquino III, following last Monday’s magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

Rama said he talked to President Aquino last Monday night and informed him of the effects of earthquake that struck Cebu and Negros Oriental at 11:49 a.m. last Monday.

There were no reports of casualties in Cebu, but a rumor of a tsunami triggered panic in Cebu City.

Mayor Rama said he received a call Tuesday morning from Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. to discuss updates on his conversation with the President.

Rama said he was asked to make a list of the city’s needs in responding to disasters.

He said the priority is a command center, where needs for disaster response will be addressed and where instructions will be given.

This way, he said the barangay officials and the public will know where to go, where to ask for help, and what to do when a disaster strikes.

A command center is also critical in correcting the false information disseminated to the public, as what happened last Monday when misinformation on a tsunami triggered panic among some of the city’s residents.

Rama also plans to buy communication equipment, including a paging system that the city can just to quickly inform the public of advisories during an emergency.

The command center is among the items that the Cebu City Council did not approve when it passed the P5.2 billion operating budget for 2012.