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BARANGAY 471: DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

Barangay 471 is located in Sampaloc, Manila with a population of 1,872 residents. Antonio, Asturias, Rosarito, Navarra, Juaning, Santander, and a portion of Dapitan and Laon Laan are streets of the barangay. 

Last December 18, 2019, I interviewed Mr. Osmundo J. Perez, the punong barangay official of Barangay 471. I was curious and asked him what calamities/hazards have occurred in the barangay. With this, we had a discussion about their Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan. One of the biggest problems that the community faces is flooding during the rainy seasons. There were calamities that happened before and during the term of Punong Barangay Perez including tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pedring in 2009. Several events like this were the cause of the lost of an average of their GDP. Connected to this is the fact that climate change increases the vulnerability of natural resources so it is important that we recognize them to ensure sustainable economic growth. 

Because of this, the barangay emphasizes on the importance of Barangay Risk Reduction and Management (BDRRM).

The budget of the barangay has a Calamity Fund which is divided into 70% and 30% for the Quick Response Fund. The Calamity Fund is meant for the equipment and materials that are needed if ever a hazard has occurred. One of their barangay projects last 2018 was De clogging in which the hazard involved is flooding and the number of beneficiaries are 100% of the constituents. 

A Procurement Plan is also essential so that BDRRM members know the number of beneficiaries and number of supply for the needs of the victims. This is where the 30% quick response fund is used. 

In case of fire, they have a megaphone, two-way radio and RAHA Fire Volunteer to inform the residents of the barangay and fire volunteers immediately to initiate a quick response. A public address system is also used to alert others. They also have fire safety tips. 

The barangay also participated in the 2019 First Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill last February 21, 2019. This is to ensure that constituents know how to respond to an actual earthquake and to evaluate the effectiveness of the emergency plan and the training of their teams. 

Everything mentioned above are the collective efforts of the barangay team to reduce and mitigate the effects of calamities. Based on what we talked about, I think they are doing their very best for the safety of the residents of Barangay 471. 

Hazardous Places

Numerous tall buildings are located around the place. This is a hazard because these may collapse during an earthquake.

Safest Places

The field located inside the University of Santo Tomas is considered a safe place because people may evacuate here in case of earthquakes. 

Photo from: TomasinoWeb

Best Practices

Having equipment ready and conducting drills such as fire and earthquake drills are the best practices in my opinion. Through the drills and equipments, officials and residents will be prepared in case of a disasters. 

Disaster Situation of the Philippines 

“The Philippines has a high vulnerability to natural hazards which are attributed to the nation's geographic position in Southeast Asia. Natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and fires affect the country.”

https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-disaster-management-reference-handbook-march-2018  

It is important that we become aware of issues of disasters in our country so that we become more prepared and lessen its effects. If we look at other countries like Japan, they easily recover even from extreme natural disasters because their government prepares for it extensively. I think this is one thing that we should adapt from them. 

Realization and Insights

After the kwentuhan and community walk, I realized how important Disaster Risk Reduction and Management is. It is a fact that a natural calamity cannot be prevented, but the effects of it can be minimized. Even though every community has vulnerabilities which can be physical, social, economic or environmental. We can also be part of prevention in cooperating with the programs of local government. With the previous experiences of the community, we are motivated to lessen risks or potential disaster losses. And of course it is vital that we strengthen the capacities of the community. Integral to capacity development is bringing about transformation: changing mindsets and attitudes rather than just performing tasks. (UNDP, 2009). Each member of the community has something to contribute and I believe that when we put our efforts and actions together, we will have can have a safer and disaster-ready community.