SW203

Philippine Social
Reality
Reflection Paper on Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management

Submitted by: Aiyana A. Martinez

Submitted to: Prof. Rebecca T. Valerio

 Philippines has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-
climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent
phenomena. It is an event that is caused by a natural hazard and leads to human, material, economic
and environmental losses. They are beyond the control of human beings. Nature provides us with all
the resources, but it can be sometimes cruel also. At the global level, there has been considerable
concern over natural disasters. Man-made disasters are caused by human activities such as nuclear
explosion, chemical & biological weapons, industrial pollution, war, accidents etc. Some serious
destructions caused by humans, which affects the human beings and the socio-economic conditions of
that area. Nationally, these disasters are a hindrance to economic growth and prosperity. They create
disharmony in efforts to develop and are time and money consuming which would have been otherwise
used somewhere else. Also, they create psychological stress and the people’s productivity is lowered.
This has left many in poverty and relying on aid from well-wishers and the government. Over the past
couple of years, the Government of Philippines has brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to
disaster management. The new approach proceeds from the conviction that development cannot be
sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into the development process. Disaster management can
be defined as the organization and management of resources and responsibilities for dealing with all
humanitarian aspects of emergencies, in particular preparedness, response and recovery in order to
lessen the impact of disasters

There has been an increase in disasters in the world as exhibited in the recent past. Since time
immemorial, disasters have been known to occur causing emergency situations in many parts of the
world. As a result of disasters, there is loss of life, destruction of properties worth million of shillings,
mass displacement of millions of people leading to refuge status, psychological trauma among other
issues. However, the severity of the above results depends on a country’s disaster preparedness and
mitigation measures that have been put in place. The modern world calls for quick response to
disasters and various governments have formulated policies on how to deal with disasters and most
importantly how to avoid them. Funds have been set aside that caters for any emergency situations that
warrant a quick response by all sectors. a disaster is a calamity which can be as a result of humans or
can be natural and disposes a high risk to loss of life, deterioration of the health status of the affected,
loss and destruction of properties and most at often causes environmental deterioration through loss of
habitat and ecological imbalance. Disasters are inevitable but the destructive impact of disasters can be
substantially reduced by adequate preparation, early warning, and swift, decisive responses. Disaster
Management encompasses all aspects of planning for and responding to disasters. It applies to
management of both risks and consequences of disasters. However, disasters need to be declared to
secure the release of government resources for intervention. Government through its various agencies
plays a huge role in such prevention and mitigation. This is done through legislation, through resource
allocation and through rational planning and sustainable development. State and local governments are
closest to those affected by natural disasters, and have always been the lead in response and
recovery. The federal government acts in a supporting role, providing assistance, logistical support, and
certain supplies. Local government is responsible for providing for the safety and security of citizens in
advance of a hurricane. That means they are in charge of developing emergency plans, determining
evacuation routes, providing public transportation for those who can’t self-evacuate, and setting up and
stocking local shelters with relief supplies. State government is responsible for mobilizing the National
Guard, pre-positioning certain assets and supplies, and setting up the state’s emergency management
functions. They are also in charge of requesting federal support though the formal disaster declaration
process. As a Social Worker, there are a lot of things that we can contribute in the preparedness and
during disasters since it is inevitable, but with proper preparedness we can diminish its casualties. First
we should teach the illiterate people (villagers) as well as the entire community how to be aware from
disasters, the precautions to be taken when it occurs. We can also help the victims through collecting
funds and other nonmonetary donations. Social Workers have a major role to play in managing
disasters as we are the front-liners during crisis. We conduct crisis intervention stress debriefing to
victims, organize and train people to cope with disasters. All communities should have some type of
disaster plan in place. The police, fire, and first aid departments all have special communication
devices, such as pagers, radios and cell phones. Disaster planning relies on volunteers who are willing
to take responsibility even when there is no available outside help. The first step is locating survivors,
next is calling for help, and then locating resources such as first aid supplies, transportation, food and
water, and shelter for the survivors. It is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. In general it is
the continuous process by which all individuals, groups and communities manage hazards in an effort
to avoid or minimize the impact of the disasters resulting from the hazards. It is almost impossible to
fully control the damage caused by the disaster, but it is possible to minimize to some extent by these
ways- By early warning given by DRRM department through radio and TV, The police control room, fire
control officers, the RED-cross office and other rescue teams should be informed. Spread awareness
about disasters and tips to handle them. Space technology plays a very important role in efficient
mitigation of disasters. Major loss of life and property can be avoided with careful planning along with
and effective warning and evacuation procedure. We should cooperate with the rescue teams. It is our
moral and social duty that we should help in arranging relief camps for those who have suffered.
 Despite the existence of emergency agencies and organizations, there is shortage of resources
to many of these agencies. Resources such as ambulances, human resources, tents and other
resources are limited thus jeopardizing the whole process of emergence planning and action.
Evacuation tools and machinery are today rare to many emergency agencies besides lack of enough
man power. In essence, this has resulted to slow response in some situations and foreign aid to fill the
resource gap. Although these shortcomings are inevitable, hope for humanity is still the main reason for
us to carry on our lives and act out our role as Public Servants. We must empower those most
pretentious by disaster through a role in management, planning and response so we can have
psychosocial and practical gains. People exposed to disaster might have come close to death, which
might shake their belief in themselves and their principles to the foundations. Life might be perceived as
chaos, diminishing their ability to respond adequately to the new situation, manage their lives and meet
basic needs. But we must remember that rebuilding the foundation will form meaning from chaos, and
much of the foundation in life is built on human relations.