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Synthesis

As I have observed, the community has little to no issues at the moment. The barangay officials are decent persons and are not corrupt. Also, they are hands-on in helping their constituents in whatever they need. This barangay is the true example of bayanihan. The government can help this barangay by allotting them more budget to upgrade their equipments and beautify the barangay.

Compared to other places in the Philippines, this barangay is fortunate. Imagine the lives of those people who live near fault lines, flood and fire prone areas, with addition of a corrupt barangay. Dreams and passion can be shattered, and things will never be the same again when a disaster occurs. As their fellow citizen, we should engage in helping these people and be their voice when no one listens to them. Get each and everyone to donate food, clothes and other necessary things to help these victims rise up from their lowest.

In the community walk, I realized that no community is perfect. Barangay 406 may be almost perfect, but there will still be a flaw that could destroy everything. In order to mitigate these effects, we should be more resilient than ever. We should raise awareness about disaster risk management so that we can minimize having casualties when a real one happens.

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Some of streets of Barangay 406. As seen above, the only distinctive hazard is fire because some of the houses are made of light materials.

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Here are the infographics posted on different parts of the barangay.

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Situation of the community

Throughout my interview with Mr. Noel Domingo, the chairman, I’ve identified the different hazards, safe spaces, and the disaster management of my community, Barangay 406. According to the him, there isn’t much hazard in the barangay because the area is not prone to flooding and there’s no fault line near the community. The only calamity that the barangay experienced is the typhoon Ondoy last 2009. It flooded but not that intense and they managed to cope up with it easily. The only hazard they’re worried about is fire. The house of the families are next to each other so if a fire starts into one house, if not prevented, then other houses will also be affected. To be prepared to this hazard, the barangay officials do rounds all the time so in case that a disaster happens, it can be addressed sooner. They also stay tune on the television and radio to be updated whenever there’s a typhoon coming.

The places that are most likely to be affected by hazards are the areas near the Lacson Avenue because there are many tall buildings in those spaces. The people who will be at high risk are obviously all of the residents, especially who do not know the disaster risk plan of the barangay. There are also many establishments and food places in the barangay so if a calamity happens, they will more likely close down for a while. Schools like the University of Santo Tomas and National University will probably suspend the classes to accommodate evacuees. The barangay is also hands on when it comes to disasters.

The barangay has posters posted around the community about what to do when a hazard happens. In case of fire, there are fire trucks readily available in the area. In case of earthquake and fire, the residents can evacuate to NU and the soccer field inside UST. Moreover, they also give relief goods to those who are affected by a disaster. The barangay has four projects according to their BDRRM Priority Plan:

Basic Training for Barangay Disaster to enhance knowledge in basic training in case of flood, fire, and earthquake. Beneficiaries of this project will be 5 elected officials and 27 appointed officials.  

Purchase of disaster equipments (refill of fire extinguishers, additional flashlight, and portable sound system for the barangay constituents

Quick response fund (for relief and recovery), also for the barangay constituents; and

4 Additional CCTV cameras for the barangay constituents

The barangay also hold seminars about disaster preparedness so that the residents are well aware of different hazards in the community and what to do when they face one. The people behind the preparation for the disaster and risk reduction management are the Barangay chairman and his officials.