Allaine’s perspective 👀

Disclaimer: ALL photos were taken by me.

Last December 3, 2019, I had an interview with the Brgy. kagawad Emily M. Catapia of Bagong Ilog.

Hazard Identification

The latest calamity that had happened was when typhoon Ompong hit according to the kagawad. She said they have more or less 85 evacuees from houses near the river and they were all brought to the covered court until the flood goes down. The barangay also faced a huge fire along the streets of San Buenaventura last November. Many people were alarmed because the house that was burning is next to the FilOil gasoline station which may cause an even bigger casualty. Luckily, there were not much people hurt in this catastrophe.

As of now, the danger that really concerns the officials is, what the news may call as "The Big One" due to the fact that Pasig City is included in the scope of the faultline. I asked how will they know if there is an incoming calamity and she explained that our Command Center calls the barangay to give information regarding the incoming calamity to warn and to prepare them. They were said to be complete and always ready with types of equipment especially when it comes to typhoons and floods since that is what is prone to happen in Pasig. They also conduct RED trainings for awareness and preparedness. They say Pasig is like in the "Hall of Fame" when it comes to BDRRM according to the kagawad.

Kagawad Emily stated: Disasters does not happen too often but as much as possible, we try our best to be prepared on how we will handle it most especially typhoons. The last calamity we faced was in November, the fire that we talked about. Definitely, we improved this 2018 compared with our preparedness in 2017.

Vulnerability, Elements and People at Risk Assessment

With regard to earthquakes, those within the proximity of the faultline as well as those houses that have a weak infrastructure are the most at risk. Another calamity that is most likely to happen in our barangay are floods. The people that will be most affected are those who reside near the river because whenever there is continuous heavy rain, the river tends to rise hence entering the houses of the residents. These threats will mostly affect the children and those that live in the depressed area next to the river. The people who reside in these places sometimes have the tendency to refuse help and refuse to evacuate their houses immediately.

Provided that these disasters will happen, those who will be most affected particularly are the employed. They will not be able to go to work thus the number of days absent will be deducted in their salary. Also, the high rise office buildings, factories that surround the barangay and other companies will be affected as well if the said calamity hits Bagong Ilog. Kagawad claimes that the Barangay Hall is the center and the safest area to be in times of disaster.

The most dangerous place in the community when threats arrive?

Near the river (tabing ilog) - Prone to floods

photo by me

Depressed area and houses near the gasoline station - Prone to fire

photo by me

Vicinity of faultline - Prone to earthquakes

photos by me

“Actually ang problema lang naman namin ay ayaw makinig ng mga tao. Nasa tao naman yan eh. Minsan talaga matigas ang mga ulo nila. Kahit na naka handa na yung mga seminar para sa Preparedness and Awareness program, pupuntahan na nga lang nila ayaw pa nila pumunta. Paminsan nga ay pinupuntahan pa namin sila sa bahay nila.” according to the barangay kagawad. Other than the hardheadedness of some civilians, budget for other equipments is also one of the concerns they are currently facing.

Capacity and Disaster Management Assessment

The community and the barangay do preparations to avoid threats such as typhoon, flood, and earthquake. To disseminate information and alertness, the barangay kagawad lets a service drive around for a public announcement whenever there will be an incoming typhoon. They put importance in circulating publice information so that all will be aware. When it comes to the actual disaster, they already have goods prepared and people ready in case needed.

Big thank you to the barangay officials for allowing me to enter the CCTV room of the barangay.

BDRRM Plan

(Kagawad Emily initially allowed me to take a picture of the plan. Unfortunately, we could not open her office which has the BDRRM plan due to circumstances so I just asked her the gist of the plan.)

She stated: "We allot budgets for seminars to equip the rescuers para well-trained sila. A portion of that is also used for ambulances and other things that will be needed. 30% of the budget for disaster goes to the equipments for the actual calamity and the 5% of the budget goes to the disaster or the aftermath of the calamity."

With regard to the barangay projects for the youth, they conduct earthquake drills for various schools and made attending seminars on preparedness and awareness mandatory last November. They are making sure that the students are aware of what's to come and how to be prepared when it comes. They also provide seminars in daycare centers as part of their project. They even said to go door to door around the community to invite them to these seminars. Their priorities in seminars are the students, senior citizens and the PWD's.

As of now, the barangay offers livelihood programs for those who were and will be affected if ever to help them get on their feet and recover from the calamity. They have programs wherein they can train other skills if the calamity had affected their jobs. A program for but not limited to pregnant women are also offered. This is called the "Nutrition Gardening" where they can plant vegetables and other crops. Once they harvest it, they can sell it and keep the fund to add to their income.

Who are the people in charge of preparing, facing and responding to calamities?

The barangay chairman usually manages according to their chart but the kagawads-in-charge are the ones assigned in governing disaster preparedness, in this case, kagawad Emily Catapia. The kagawad also said that she has assigned committees for different sectors such as:

Peace and order committee - they are the ones who rescue and make sure that everyone is safe.

Maintenance committee – they are the ones in charge in the “Clean and Green” program. They also clear the falling trees within the community whenever there is a big typhoon.

HEALTH committee – they are those who stay with the evacuees to help and care for them in times of disaster.