NSTP L-ENG-3 MODULE 3
I went together with my classmates to go interview for our nstp.
The barangay we went to was Barangay 478, zone 47, district 4, Manila. The entrance of the barangay can be found along España. We interviewed barangay captain Ruben Peña, a former barangay chairman. The main problem their barangay has in terms of disasters are floods. Mainly, the flood flowing through the streets coming from the España. When we receive the warning of an incoming typhoon, they begin preparing their safety equipments for disaster risk reduction. They also have a bell along the street, so that anyone in trouble may ring it and people will know to respond to the call for help. The bell acts the same way an emergency siren does when there is an upcoming disaster. It warns the people of community to prepare for it or most probably evacuate the premises so as to avoid casualties. The siren can be on a national level, by virtue of PAGASA. They warn the Filipinos beforehand, and lets us know what damages and effects we have to expect.
For their preventive measures against incoming disasters, the barangay does declogging in nearby canals to produce a smoother flow of water through the canals during floods. Mr. Peña has also made the community aware of the safety areas that they should head to in case of disasters. For earthquakes, they are to evacuate to the UST grandstand field, seeing as it is the only space with open area. For floods, they head straight to Ramon Magsasay School, just beside their street. As for the most dangerous area, he only indicated it to be España, seeing as it is where the flood comes from. Using their budget, he has provided fire extinguishers in every household so that they will be ready for any unexpected fires, which has become a prominent disaster recently. They also have hazard safety posters, and disaster reduction awareness signages, although they have not put them up at the time as they have just finished moving office. He has also told the community to be aware of the leptospirosis, a common illness from floods that could lead to death if not treated, as what happened to one of his fellow officials. The local government should really act on not only this barangay, but also on others that are greatly affected yearly by typhoons and floods. Proper communication between the local government and its barangays not only during disasters, but also before, so that they can brainstorm more effective ways of preparing for incoming disasters.
After a disaster, barangay officials including himself will respond to the call of the people and help in cleaning up the waste that were washed to their houses due to the flood. As for the problems within their community, he stated that they did not have enough officials to help in responding to the needs of the people during a disaster. He was thankful though because the people themselves have the initiative to help those they are not able to reach. One of the problems that they have are also their infrastructures. They are old buildings, and so they have low entrances and flood easily comes in. People who have been living there the longest are the ones greatly affected, as their houses don't have stairs by the entrance to block the flood from entering.
After the interview, we had pictures with him individually and we thanked him for his time. We were not able to ask for the captain to come walk with us, as he had another interview chanced upon him after ours.
During our walk, I realized that there are many hazards not only just within the barangay, but all around España, and probably in many different areas connected. With broken cements leading to canals, unstable canal covers, tangled electrical wires, even a live wire hanging about eye-level beside the Ramon Magsasay school.
We were not able to get inside the school itself to check for the safe space, so we don’t know how effective an evacuation center it really is for floods, but most schools are built with that in mind so it most definitely is. The other safe space is the UST field, and we all know how safe it is due to how open it is.
One of the best practices that Mr. Peña told us was the declogging. This is one of the most effective ways their community can do to prevent flooding. I don’t think it’s considered a practice, but I also like how close they are as a community. It is a very small community, as it is a narrow-street barangay, so the people there know each other very well, and act comfortable with one another. It shows how they care for on another, and that they always have each other’s back.
In conclusion, there is a need to prioritize and advocate Disaster Risk Reduction Management plans, because there are many barangays out there in need of help before, during, and after disasters. The government giving budgets won’t cut it. It is important that we address the issue of disasters in our country so that we may progress into a more sustainable, more developed, and more prepared country that can withstand state of calamity disaster threats. By virtue of appointing a section of the government to focus solely on DRRM, we might just be able to absolve some of the issues concerning the implementation of the disaster risk reduction practices from the national-level to local-level communities. I as a member of the community, will do whatever I can as a student who advocates for the prioritization of DRRM, and voice my opinions in hopes to persuade the authorities in question in giving DRRM a chance and invest their time for its sustainability as a plan and movement.