Natural disasters and emergencies impose significant challenges on schools’
capacity to maintain an inclusive educational environment, which contributes to
inadequate protection of learners during and after disasters. The objective of this
study was to determine the level of DRRM implementation and compliance in
selected public schools in Tanay Sub-Office, Schools Division Office of Rizal. It
further sought to determine the significant difference in the level of DRRM
implementation and compliance between schools implementing inclusive education
programs and regular high schools. The study utilized a descriptive-inferential
methodology. The data were collected using a researcher-made survey
questionnaire anchored on the DepEd School DRRM Manual. One hundred thirty-
eight (138) public secondary school teachers from Tanay Sub-Office participated in
conduct of the study. The findings revealed that DRRM measures have been widely
implemented in all four DRRM areas: prevention and mitigation, preparedness,
response, and post-disaster recovery and rehabilitation. Schools were also found to
be compliant with the Comprehensive Schools Safety pillars. Furthermore, the study
found no significant difference in the level of DRRM implementation when
participants are classified in terms of their school type. However, in terms of level of
DRRM compliance, the study revealed that schools offering inclusive education
programs had a higher level of DRRM compliance compared to regular high schools,
particularly in School Disaster Management and Risk Reduction and Resilience
Education. The study recommends that the Department of Education update its
Comprehensive DRRM policy and support framework, ensuring they align with
global standards. Future research should consider investigating factors that
contribute to higher DRRM implementation and compliance in schools offering
inclusive education programs.
Disaster risk communication plays a critical role in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM)
interventions as accurate and timely communication during all phases of DRRM interventions, including
pre-disaster, during disaster, and post-disaster can save lives. As a constitutive component of DRRM, risk
communication seeks to involve affected communities and stakeholders in taking action to mitigate or
reduce the impacts of disasters (Chionis & Karanikas, 2022; Dufty, 2020; Fakhruddin, Clark, Robinson, &
HieberGirardet, 2020; Herovic, Sellnow, & Sellnow, 2020; Kar & Cochran, 2019)
In disaster-prone countries like the Philippines, where communities are at a high risk of experiencing the
devastating impacts of natural disasters, risk communication aims to emphasize the importance of
preparedness and resilience-building measures. In 2021, while the country faced the challenges of the
pandemic and adapted to community quarantine measures, devastating disasters like Typhoon Odette
ravaged the 12 regions of the country which affected 1.2 million families across the islands of Bohol,
Southern Leyte and Caraga region (Nepomuceno, 2022; Citizens’ Disaster Response Center, 2021).
Philippines is an archipelago state, consisting of some 7,100 islands and islets, and covering a land area
of approximately 300,000 km2 . The country comprises three groups or large islands: (1) the Luzon
group in the north and west, consisting of Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan, (2) the Visaya group in the
centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay and Samar, and (3) Mindanao in the
South. Manila and nearby Quezon City, the country’s most-populous cities, are part of the National
Capital Region (NRC or Metro Manila), located on the largest island Luzon (Cullinane, 2019). The islands
and groups are divided into four main classes of administrative divisions, which consist of 17
autonomous regions, 81 provinces, 1,489 municipalities, and the smallest political units, 42,044
Barangays as of 2018 (PSA, 2018).The Philippines is governed by a presidential form, in which power is
divided among three juridical branches; executive, legislative and judicial, which seek democracy and
balance by carrying their equally weighted duties to uphold law, rights and representation of the
interests of the people (GoP, 2019). In terms of disaster risk, Philippines ranked third among all of the
countries with the highest risks worldwide according to the World Risk Report 2018, with index value of
25.14% (World Economic Forum, 2018). At least 60% of the country’s total land area is exposed to
multiple hazards, and 74% of the population is susceptible to their impact (GFDRR, 2017). This is largely
due to the location and geographical context as the risk involving coastal hazards such as typhoons,
storm surges and rising sea levels is high. Also, as the islands are located within the “Ring of Fire”
between the Eurasian and Pacific tectonic plates, earthquakes and volcanoes are posing serious risks to
the safety of the populace. Flooding, landslides, droughts and tsunamis further contribute to the
exposure to natural hazards (CFE-DM, 2018). Of these, hydro-meteorological events including typhoons
and floods, accounted for over 80% of the natural disasters in the country during the last half-century
(Jha, 2018). Given the local ecologies, agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing and services are major
sources of people’s livelihoods. In 2019, employment rate was reported at 94.8 % (PSA, 2019), and out
of the three key sectors of employment (industry, agriculture and services), workers in service providing
comprised the largest proportion of the employed population (PSA, 2018) (figure 2).
