The Three Southern Philippine Municipalities Case

1. A Proactive Response to
Communal Crisis: The
Three Southern Philippine
Municipalities Case
By:
A Arquellano, E Abaa, H Zanoria, D Angus

2. Responding to SDGs Nos. 3 & 11
 3- Healthy lives and promote well -being for all at all
ages

 11 Make cities and urban areas safe, resilient and sustainable
 11.5. Reduce no. Of deaths and the number of people affected &
substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross
domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related diseases,
with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.

3.  b. Cities adopting and implementing integrated
policies and plans, towards inclusive resource
efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to
climate change, resilience to disasters,
and develop & implement in line with Sendai
Framework for DRR in 2015-2030, Holistic
Disaster Risk management at all levels.

4.  Climate change/Global Warming
 Heavy precipitation, stronger typhoons and storm
surges
 Increasing frequency of El Nino and La Nina
 Occurrences of landslides and earthquakes
 Man-made disasters like rebellion and fires

5. The resilience approach to disaster
reduction

 - provides a logic within which this relationship
( health and disaster ) can gain more credence in
terms of examining health & organizational
practices is Disaster Management

6. EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
PROJECTS
2012-2013
EMERGENCY
RESPONSE
PROJECTS
2012-2013

7. The role of LGUs
 In dealing with risk reduction and enhancing
resilience have been recognized as one of the key
concerns throughout the world.
 - It is suspected that sustainable development
goals may not be achieved if a city /local
government fails to enhance itss resilience by
prioritizing disaster risk reduction.

8.  “Bottom-up” involvement and participation of
affected communities in service delivery
 “Confused “- no clear guidance & support of
governmental activities
 “Top-down” - breakdown at the local level;
national government has to step in and take
control of the delivery effort

9. Blue - Very high
Light blue -High
Yellow green -Medium
Green -Lower Medium
Yellow -Low
Light orange -Very low

10.  Strongest typhoon – beyond 300 kph
 - affecting 7 provinces in central Philippines with
around 7,000 dead and displacing thousands of
families in affected areas.
 - billions of pesos in infrastructure and agricultural
produce

11. NORTHERN CEBU & WESTERN
LEYTE

12.  1. Looked into how local government units ( Guian,
Samar, San Francisco, Cebu & Himatuan, Surigao Sur )
were able to cope with the calamity.
 2. Extracted lessons from the organizational successes
& drawbacks
 3. To recommend measures that will help draft a model
of response for effective LGU DRRM interventions
the studythe study

13.  1. Case studies
 3. Focus group Discussions & Key
informant interviews of service
providers and local leaders
 4. Documents review

14.  Philippines- has an average of 19 typhoons in a
year
 RA 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991
delegates the LGU as the frontline responder in
emergency situations
 National government as the ‘enabler’ –to provide
LGUs with the resources and funds they need to
respond effectively

15.  RA 10121 or the NDRR System Act –
 - aims to strengthen the capacity of the National
Government & LGUs, together with partner
stakeholders,
 - to build the disaster resilience of communities, and
to institutionalize arrangements and measures for
reducing disaster risks, enhancing preparedness
and response capabilities at all levels.

16.  The NDRRMC and the intermediary LDRRMCs
 - act as SUPPORT to LGUs which have the
primary responsibility as first disaster responders

17.  1. Bureaucratic Norms:
 rules, regulations, Procedures and SOPs
 2. Emergent Norms:
 Direction & Meaning to the Affected
 Population

18. Bureaucratic Norms Emergent Norms
 Early evacuation of
vulnerable areas, 24/7
manning/communi -cation
and close inter
-departmental
coordination
 Inclusion of stakeholders
& private sector in the
DRRM system
 Early response team was
formed in each
geographic cluster
 - organized into several
groups/sectors for early or
flexible response
 - Less casualty than that
of Palo or Tacloban City
( regional center ).

LGU's Disaster Responses

20.  1. the data showed that LGUs
provided the following:
 proactive evacuation of most
vulnerable communities
 early warning % formation of
community volunteers
 - health-home/personal kits
 - shelter repair kits
 - provision of livelihood inputs
 - psycho-social support for those
affected
 2. the LGUs are considered
as models in DRRM
preparation
 2.1. instead of a politicized
environment and centralized
decision -making
 3. Responding to the needs
poorest of the poor – NGOs

21.  4. Empowering the
beneficiaries thru “Cash
transfer” – like flexibility
on its use
 5. ‘cash for work”
 6. Livelihood assistance
as a priority in the
recovery process

22.  7. “ Self-help” as an
important ingredient in
sustaining initiatives
 8. The use of “purok”
( village ) system and
having clusters led by
informal leaders
facilitated project
implementation
 9. Coordinative activities
were very crucial in
synchronizing activities at
the field level
( before, during and post
disaster period )

23.  1. There was a close working relationship
between governmental bodies and the
community.
 2. Leadership and political will to integrate DRRM
paid off:

 - open system /accessibility; being open to
 new ideas based on field developments

24.  -resilience/flexibility- ability to respond in
 ongoing/developing situations;
 -communicate across many different boundaries;
 -managing different roles

25.  3. Importance of inter-departmental cooperation
as an important ingredient:
 - health
 - social services
 - agriculture
 - safety and security
 - infrastructure/engineering
 - rescue/retrieval


26.  People’s participation is crucial in the
implementation of effective DRRM interventions
 5. Flexibility on the side of the LCEOs- very
important in handling emergencies.

27.  1. LGUs should take DRRM seriously by allocating
enough funds & manpower. There should be a system
and people manning the office.
 2. LGU must harness the power of the
people/communities & make them active participants in
planning, implementation, monitoring & evaluation of
DRRM activities.
- community volunteer formation

28.  3. Setting up of purposive avenues to regularly
educate people about DRRM in a language and
methodology that they can understand.
 - recognize local knowledge- about disaster
preparedness/response.
 - respect the organizing scheme/s of
communities ( purok system )

29. 4. Give more focus on
PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
rather than on RESPONSE.
- Install GEO -mapping,
VULNERABILITY assessment tools,
communication & other facilities
( e.g. rain gauges at the community
level ).

30.  5. Creation of and/or strengthening of existing
DRRM multi-SECTORAL and
multi-DISCIPLINARY DRRM councils.
 6. Social workers play central roles in disaster response
and rehabilitation
- IEC and participatory approaches in prevention/
mitigation activities
- group formation and maintenance
- psycho-social support to those who are affected

31. Reflection
 - proactive engagement with hazards, vulnerability &
coping to facilitate resilience through well-being;

 - people centered, driven & motivated Disaster
assessment that is multidisciplinary, integrated and
perpetual

 - investment of finance and people's participation in
decision making , all in the interrests of implementing
disaster avoidance.

32. Principles
 early warning, risk management and
preparedness bring security and are many times
more cost-effective in dealing with disasters
than responding to emergencies once disasters
have struck ( first principle of progressive
disaster management )
 -resilience to disasters must be embedded in
multiple stakeholder or corporate interests in
security ( 2nd principle).

33. Maraming Salamat
July 5-6, 2016-
Manila Hotel,
Manila, Philippines
contact : hzanoria@yahoo.com