cwayneee-blog

[cwayneee-blog]

Barangay 471: Community Walk and Official Interview Photos

[cwayneee-blog]

Barangay 471: Community Walk and Official Interview

December 18, 2019 – As a requirement to the National Service Training Program course which aims to investigate and identify the hazards and disasters my community is prone to, and to think of solutions that strives to increase the capacity of my community. Part of the activity requires us to coordinate and to conduct an interview with a barangay official.

I visited the barangay hall of Barangay 471 Zone 46 District IV located at the corners of Navarra street and Dapitan street. This barangay hall is almost in front of the University of Santo Tomas and thus could easily be seen by bystanders, students, and residents. Moreover, Barangay 471 Zone 46 District IV has a total land area of about 3.2 hectares that covers the intersection of Alfonso Mendoza Avenue up to the western side of Antonio Street. Delightfully, honorable Babilon “Bobby” D. Lorican, one of the barangay councilors, was available to help.

One of the most frequent hazards that occur in the community and around UST is flooding which is often connected with typhoons. Typhoons are usually experienced on the rainy seasons of June up to October. Heavy rains and monsoon rains, even for a short amount of time however, are enough to elevate the water on roads and cause floods that would last for a couple of hours. As the statement goes, “Hindi ka pa Tomasino kung hindi ka pa nakalusong sa baha.” Indeed Filipinos are known for their resiliency and their ability to see the light in times of darkness but, incidents like this could lead to disasters and leave permanent damage not only to properties, but also to residents, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Thus, this hazard needs to be addressed.

According to the barangay disaster preparedness vital information sheet, the location for high-risk areas of flood is the whole barangay. Over the years, I have seen and experienced walking on a handful of floods, and I have noticed that even nearby barangays that are not within the vicinity of UST are affected by high floods. As I walked around the barangay, I noticed the lack of drainage systems such as canals which plays a vital role in preventing and lessening the height and intensity of floods. I believe this is one solution that needs to be implemented and brought to not only barangay officials, but also the higher officials.

Fire, was also one of the most devastating hazards the barangay is prone to, specifically establishments along Juaning street. Establishments in this street include dormitories, canteens, restaurants, and a gasoline station, which is dangerous as fuels could burn easily. Moreover, I have seen electrical wires that have been tangled and dangling across the streets of Dapitan. Fires are among the most occurring if not the most occurring hazard in Manila, it does not select any time or any season when it will happen. Morning, noon, evening, or midnight, even during the rainy season or when a typhoon have struck the country, suddenly people could hear honking firetrucks and their sirens to stop a fire. Thankfully, along Padre Noval street, firetrucks of RAHA Volunteers could be seen parked along the sides of the road thereby reducing fire from spreading among buildings.

The official went on to talk about the series of earthquakes that have occurred this year alone. Just last April 22, a devastating struck of magnitude 6.1 struck Luzon which affected Pampanga, Manila, and nearby provinces with the epicenter in Castillejos, Zambales. In the succeeding days, numerous aftershocks were felt. The consecutive tremors were frightening, he said.

In a normal day, ten seconds could pass so sudden, but in earthquakes, ten seconds could take away houses, livelihoods, and worse of all, lives. What makes an earthquake more daunting is that it is unpredictable. To minimize the vulnerability of the community, earthquake drills are conducted where residents are thought how to act the next time they are involved in such situation. Newly constructed buildings have also been designed to resist the shaking of the ground to prevent toppling.

The barangay has officers in charge for each teams that are involved in the risk reduction of the community, these includes, warning service team, rescue and evacuation team, disaster relief and supply service team, medical service team, fire brigade team, damage control team, security service team, and the barangay disaster coordinating council.

Typhoons and floods may be the easiest hazards to prepare which could be done by making sure a go -bag containing necessities, important documents, food and water that could last for a week or more , perhaps having a go-bag is suggested for almost all kinds of hazards. Some prevention for fire would be by unplugging outlets when leaving, keeping objects that could spark and are flammable from things that could catch fire easily such as wood, paper, or curtains. The barangay itself had placed speakers, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers within the barangay to increase the capacity of the community. In cases when hazards like these could not be managed and turns into a disaster, the second and third floors of the barangay hall would serve as evacuation areas for flood and fire victims.

Personally, I think the barangay hall is not enough to be an evacuation area considering the size of the building itself. I believe it could not contain a lot of evacuees. I suggest that another wide building could be used as an evacuation area as we should also expect for worse case scenarios.

Since earthquakes are unpredictable, the best and obvious way to keep out of harm’s way in times of disaster would still be leaving the building and to an open area while following the “Duck, Cover, and Hold.”

For earthquakes, people would still be at risk if they were to evacuate along the streets of Dapitan. Because of this, the UST Open Field serves as an evacuation area for students and the barangay. The field is a great evacuation area as it away from the tall condominium located outside of UST.

Although Barangay 471 have done solutions to avoid potential hazards and disasters, people are also required to participate and help the community in building a better and more capable community. Months ago, road constructions were done on Asturias street and other roads which was already accomplished but, during the times of reconstruction, passers-by would litter small trash on the pothole when a signage prohibiting people from placing their trash in the reconstruction site was already placed. This I believe was one cause for disrupting roadworks and delaying the time of completion for the road.

Firemen have also come to dormitories to provide lectures for fire awareness and prevention, the do’s and don’ts in fire, and a participatory demonstration of how to utilize a fire extinguisher using the PASS method yet several people were disregarding the firemen providing lectures for the safety of communities.

In addition to the aforementioned hazards, Barangay 471 also address health issues that might spread within the community such as Polio and Dengue by providing free vaccines for kids. Prevention of outbreaks for such diseases are helpful especially for members who lack money for their health. Moreover, it reduces mortality rate especially for kids who tend to be more prone to diseases as such.

When we think of hazards, we often think of earthquakes or other calamities that might lead to disasters. However, theft and other forms of threats, an issue that have been going around lately, are also a form of safety hazards. The safety and security of people living in the area are also monitored by CCTV cameras placed around the barangay through two LCD screens placed inside the barangay hall. This makes barangay hall a place to go to when we feel unsafe or when we have been threatened by strangers.

The Philippines in general, is an earthquake-prone country. It is located along the western segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire, an place where most active volcanos could be seen thus, making our country prone to volcanic eruptions. In addition to this, the Philippines is also located on the junction of the Pacific plate and the Eurasian plate. Metro Manila itself is located along numerous faults namely, Valley Fault System (VFS), Philippine Fault, Lubang Fault, Manila Trench, and Casiguran Fault. Aside from these, the Philippines experience an average of 20 typhoons crossing the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

With these, we need to address the disaster issues in our country by starting on the small scale, with the barangays, by having a more efficient hazard plan especially having a better evacuation area for hazards when more people are affected. Seminars and talks must also be conducted regarding hazard and disaster awareness and what to do before, during, and after a disaster. Earthquake and fire drills must also be done more often, preferably once a month, to keep the community prepared when calamity attacks. As a member of the community and a Filipino, it is my responsibility to spread awareness and share my knowledge to my fellow citizens. It is a task, not only for me, but also to others who have been well-educated about these issues to increase the capacity and risk reduction of our communities, by equipping our fellow citizens with skills on disaster preparedness.

After this activity, I was able to see the efforts the barangay does to keep its people protected. I was also more aware of how the barangay takes action when calamity strikes and who we could seek help if we ever become affected ourselves. Lastly, we often think and go after the mayor when we have complaints and problems with our community however in this activity,  I realized that we could talk and consult to people in the barangay when we have issues or suggestions on how to improve the system.