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Disaster Preparedness of Barangay Gen. T. De Leon

On December 2, 2019, I formally and humbly asked for the consent and some of the time of Honorable Alfren S. Caina, the Barangay Captain of Barangay Gen. T. De Leon, to conduct this interview. Luckily, he has been generous of giving me his time to ask him a few questions. 

Firstly, I asked Mr. Caina the common hazards that the Barangay usually experiences. He answered that some parts of the Barangay were located in low level of lands so the tendency is that they can be seriously affected when we experience typhoons, however, he said that cases of flooding were already mitigated because of  different construction or elevation of lands happening in some parts of the Barangay. He also he cited fire accidents that rarely happens in the barangay. 

When I asked to honorable Barangay captain of what are the calamity hazards and disaster that his administration is preparing well for, he answered “The Big One”. It is indeed true that the tendency of the coming of this particular disaster should alarm the people and the government to take necessary actions. As Mr. Caina answered when asked what programs is currently being implemented in relate to the disaster. He answered, conduction of several seminars, trainings and also information dissemination not only by leaflets, flyers and etc. but also dissemination happening inside social media. 

Moreover, Mr. Caina also mentioned that sometimes disruption occurs in securing the safety of his constituents because some of the citizens of the barangay are too hard headed to leave the place of their home that is located in a danger zone, this adds up to the problem of making sure that all of the citizens would be in a safe place when “The Big One” occurs.

It was also mentioned by Mr. Caina that seminars were being held in the preparation for calamaties, disasters and other hazards. He also said that not only the elderlies or the officials of Local Government Units (LGU) were given seminars and trainings but also young students. 

When asked, if the the Barangay is well preared for evacuations, the honorable Barangay Captain confidently said yes. He mentioned 3 public schools that serves as an evacuation center in times of disasters. One of which is the Gen. T. De Leon National High School. The two others are: Gen. T. De Leon Elementary School and Santiago De Guzman National High School. 

However, in relate with the preparation being done for “The Big One”, Mr. Caina said that there are no open space currently available within the area so they are still looking for possible remedies for that. 

This is one of the facilities that I think contributes greatly to the advocacy of the leaders in Valenzuela to mitigate the effects of both expected and unexpected disasters. These 3s centers all over Valenzuela serve as a multifunctional city/barangay hall. The presence of health clinic, fire station and etc can be found in these centers, it becomes very accessible for the people to raise out their concerns with the help of the establishment of these centers. 

The conducted interview and the adventure of walking through our Barangay has made me realize that hazards and disasters are difficult to predict but the best way to mitigate its effect is to practice the art of prevention. As Mr. Caina said, the best way to prevent the serious effects of disasters and hazards, the local governments should play its role in making sure that the people are aware of what is happening and aware of what they should do in times of the said disasters. Also, Mr. Caina mentioned that cooperation of his constituents is important in this matter because without their help, implementation of different programs, seminars and information dissemination wouldn’t be effective. 

It is true that sometimes we tend to overlook the hazards and we tend not to prioritize getting adequate knowledge about it thus, it is worthy to note that as citizens of the society, we should play our part in the plans made by the government. 

I, as a citizen who experienced to be stranded in second floor of our house during typhoon Ondoy, personally take information and disaster preparedness a  serious matter that needs to emphasize to every member of our barangay and even in the whole country. We should also play our part in accordance with nature because even if some disasters were caused by natural incident, the things we do to nature may serve as a “trigger” in having these aforementioned disasters. 

I cannot firmly say that we are fully equipped with the disasters that are bound to happen but I am pleased to know that efforts are evident in prioritizing the matter of being prepared for the aforementioned disasters.