With the goal to contribute practical solutions to local community concerns, Isabela State University (ISU) signs a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Municipality of Echague on March 7, 2024 for the utilization of a disaster monitoring and management application called Community Operations for Mobilized Emergency Teams (COMET).

The signing ceremony was attended by the University and Local Government Unit (LGU) officials headed by Dr. Ricmar P. Aquino (President) and Hon. Francis Faustino “Kiko” A. Dy (Municipal Mayor) respectively.

As an institution that puts premium on research and extension, the mutual agreement between the two (2) institutions is a continuing effort on the collaborative process of technology transfer between the University and the public to allow the use of scientific findings and knowledge.

COMET was developed by Dr. Kelvin Kris C. Gonzales of ISU San Mateo Campus as a response to the problems in terms of mapping incidents and rescue response rates, especially in far-flung and disaster-prone areas.

As an application, COMET has features that allow registered users to notify concerned individuals of any incident in a specific location that can easily be identified in the application’s map view. It also shows traffic density, evacuation areas, hospitals, and clinics around the user’s location to assist rescuers in strategizing their rescue operations.

Aside from the Municipality of Echague which is a Gawad KALASAG (Kalamidad at Sakuna Labanan, Sariling Galing ang Kaligtasan) awardee in 2018 and 2019, the Municipality of San Mateo and the City Government of Santiago have also shown interest in adopting the said technology.