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DRRM: Barangay North Fairview

Barangay North Fairview was formerly a part of Barangay Pasong Putik, but today it stands independently as a small barangay. The request of the residents of North Fairview fro the separation of its barangay from the bigger barangay started in the year of 1979. Their reason for making an appeal was that Barangay Pasong Putik was too big to accommodate the basic needs of its residents. Hence, they suggested that the Barangay Pasong Putik to be divided into smaller barangays. It was not an easy jounery for their requesst to be granted. But with the help of the residents they were able to pass their appeal to the congress. One March 1995, their intention to be separated from the larger barangay was passed, then on October 1996 they held their plebiscite and they won. And on the year of 1997, the Barangay of North Fairview held their first election for their council. Now, it stands independently with the goals of providing the community with the best services and are working for the continuous improvement of the barangay. 

Barangay North Fairview’s land area is around 207,000 hectares, within this area are several subdivisions (households), amenities and facilities such as: basketball, tennis, badminton courts, and swimming pools, parks, schools, colleges, religious institutions, health centers, supermarkets, and police precincts. And with my walk around the community, I could say that they are well maintained and managed by the barangay officials. 

Moving forward, the major disaster the barangay experience is flooding in most areas during typhoon season or with heavy rains since there is a part of the barangay that is located near the Tullahan river/creek. The barangay also experience fire due some houses built with light materials and are closely with each other. And since North Fairiview is part of the cluster that would be hit by the ‘Big one’, the barangay also experience earthquakes. When there is an upcoming typhoon, the barangay officials get updates from PAGASA; and with fire and earthquake it usually happens suddenly and there are no available scientific equipment to predict them. If the disaster happens such as flooding, the residents who are most affected are the ones living beside the riverbank and also their houses are situated in low-lying areas. These disasters have an impact on the resident’s livelihood since they are not able to go to their work and the buildings where are they are working are sometimes being destroyed by the calamity. The barangay makes sure that all of their residents are safe when natural calamities, such as floods, fire, and earthquake, happen hence they have allotted a safe place for the residents to go, they advise the residents to go to the veteran’s hospital for it has a big open space. And due to the many flooding incidents in the area, the local government built a retaining wall along the river to prevent the water to overflow, which was the main reason of the flooding in some areas of the barangay before.

Furthermore, for the barangay’s disaster management assessment, I learnt that all of the officials in the barangay undergo trainings regarding disaster risk reduction and management that are held by the Department of Public Order and Safety, Philippine Red Cross, Social Services Development Department, etc., in preparation for natural disasters. They have also invested in different equipment in case there will be a disaster such as fiber glass motorboats, firetrucks, ambulance, CCTVs that would monitor the level of the river water, and many others. The barangay has also installed a water level gauge marking near the Tullahan river to know whether the water is about to overflow or not. Moreover, for their prepartion or earthquakes the barangay conducts earthquake drills quarterly. And during the calamity itself, the barangay captain makes sure to attend to all the needs of the residents, to check around the affected areas. The barangay captain together with the counselors, BPSO, and volunteers are responsible for preparing, dealing, and responding to the natural calamities. And when I  asked about the what major problems that the barangay faces, they didn’t answer the natural calamities but instead they told me that unknown source of drugs. 

And to help the people who were affected by the natural calamities, the barangay has different livelihood projects, training, and seminars such as soap and candle making, tailoring, call center training, hair cutting, etc., with the help of the local office and TESDA. They also conduct free training for baristas, hotel and restaurant management, and the likes. The barangay also holds job fairs with the help of the different private companies. 

With the geographical location of the Philippines, which in the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is prone to natural calamities. Thus it is very important to be prepared and well-equipped in case of natural calamities to ensure the safety of the people. And I commend Barangay North Fairview as they are a perfect example of a barangay who is ready when faced with calamities.