Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Disasters cause the destruction of communities, death of millions, and collapse of

people's livelihoods. They leave indelible impacts on physical landscapes and on people's

minds. Unfortunately, the Philippines is one of the world's most disaster prone nations.

The exposure of the country to disasters can be attributed to its geographical and physical

characteristics. Earthquakes are common and volcanoes abound because the country is in

the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Philippines also absorbs the full strength of typhoons that

develop in the Pacific Ocean.

By definition, a disaster is a sudden event that causes great harm to people and

destruction of property. Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is taking steps to lower the

potential for disaster by analyzing and managing the causes. Countries, organizations and

individuals should develop strategies to reduce the risk of disaster should adverse events

arise (Scheunemann, October, 2021).

Floods are the most common and widespread of all weather-related natural

disasters. They are feared by people in society, because they come with a high water

discharge, inundate at a high level for a long time, and carry waste materials that interfere

with activities in society. They can happen during heavy rains, when ocean or sea waves

come on shore, when dams or levees break. Damaging flooding may happen with only a

few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. Flash floods are the most

dangerous kind of floods, because they combine the destructive power of a flood with
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incredible speed. Flash floods occur when heavy rainfall exceeds the ability of the ground

to absorb it (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020).

In the period 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events

world-wide, claiming 1.23 million lives, and affecting 4.2 billion people. Asia suffered

the highest number of disaster events. In total, between 2000 and 2019, there were 3,068

disaster events in Asia, followed by the 1,756 events in the Americas and 1,192 events in

Africa. In terms of affected countries globally, China, 577 events, and the USA, 467

events, reported the highest number of disaster events, followed by India, 321 events,

Philippines, 304 events, and Indonesia, 278 events (UN, 2020).

In Ilocos Sur, the province experienced a heavy flooding brought by typhoon

Maring, which left an initial estimated damage of P580 million to farms, livestock, roads,

and other structures, and displaced over 18,000 residents in coastal town of the province.

The towns of Caoayan, Bantay, Sto. Domingo, San Ildefonso, Sta. Catalina, and San

Vicente, are among those badly affected (DOST, 2021).

To avert the damaging effects of disasters and calamities, the Philippine

government had increased its efforts to implement the disaster risk reduction and

management (DRRM) program. The creation of Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010 was implemented to strengthens

the disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM). With this law, it is believed that the

impact of disaster is minimal, and the Filipinos are safer and more resilient. The law

emphasizes the role of the local government officials from governors to mayors and

barangay officials to be responsible and take the lead in their respective areas on matters

related to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DILG, 2020).

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Under the RA 10121, the Barangay Development Council (BDC) is emphasized

to serve as the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the barangay

level, and will coordinate directly with the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management Committee (BDRRMC). The BDC is duty bound to approve, monitor and

evaluate the implementation of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Plan (BDRRM Plan), and conduct regular reviews and tests to ensure that it remains

compliant with other programs and plans in the national and local levels. It shall also

ensure that disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation are embedded in

the plans, programs and budget at the local level, as a strategy for continuous

development and poverty reduction; recommend and implement forced or preemptive

evacuation for residents, when needed; and conduct meetings with the Barangay

Development Council once every three months, or as needed (southeastasia.org, 2018).

While studies on disaster risk reduction and management are widely conducted,

the usual focus is directed on the capacities, preparedness or effectiveness at the Local

Government Unit level. Focusing such studies on the BDRRMC is rarely emphasized.

This inspires the student-researches to pursue this study.

The results of the study could serve as a basis in policy formulation and program

planning and implementation that are geared towards furthering the effectiveness of

Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, including improvement of

disaster risk reduction and management services at the municipal, provincial and the

national levels.
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Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the level of effectiveness of the Barangay Disaster

Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC) in flood-prone communities in

Caoayan, Ilocos Sur.

Specifically, it will seek answers to the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the BDRRMC-respondents in terms of the following:

A. Socio-demographic Factors

a. age,

b. sex,

c. civil status,

d. highest educational attainment, and

e. family monthly income;

B. Work-related Factors

a. length of service, and

b. number of relevant trainings attended?

2. What is the profile of the household-respondents in terms of:

a. age,

b. sex,

c. civil status, and

d. highest educational attainment?

3. What is the profile of the community in terms of:

a. classification
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a.1. coastal,

a.2. town-proper, and

a.3. interior;

b. appropriated budget for the BDRRMC?

4. What is the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC in terms of:

a. disaster prevention and mitigation

a.1. risk assessment,

a.2. plans and policies,

a.3. early warning system, and

a.4. environmental management;

b. disaster preparedness

b.1. capacity development activities, and

b.2. partnership mechanisms;

c. disaster response

c.1. search and rescue, and

c.2. emergency relief;

d. disaster rehabilitation and recovery

d.1. early recovery, and

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d.2. medium to long-term recovery;

5. Is there a significant relationship between the level of effectiveness of the

BDRRMC respondents and their profile?

Scope and Delimitation

This study primarily aims to determine the level of effectiveness of the Barangay

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC) in flood-prone

communities in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. The significant relationship between the profile of

the respondents and the level of effectiveness of the BDRRMC is also aimed at.

A descriptive-correlational research design will be used. It is descriptive because

the profile of the respondents and the community, and the extent of effectiveness of the

BDRRMC will be described. It is correlational because it will look into the significant

relationship between the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC-respondents and their

profile.

The respondents will include the ________ BDRRMC staff in selected flood-

prone communities in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur to include Barangays Puro, Villamar, and

Pantay Tamurong. Total enumeration will be employed. On the other hand, the sample

size of the household-respondents, which will be represented by the family heads, will be

determined through Slovin’s formula.

The profile of the BDRRMC staff respondents will be correlated with the level of

their effectiveness in disaster risk reduction and management, while that of the household

respondents’ will only serve as a validation of their participation.

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A questionnaire-checklist to be formulated by the researchers and content-

validated by a pool of experts will be used to gather the needed data. The respondents

will be reached out to personally for the data collection. The nature and purpose of the

study will be thoroughly explained. Only willing participants will be included. Frequency

and percentage, mean, and simple linear correlation analysis will be applied for the

statistical treatment of the data gathered and the interpretation of results. The

effectiveness of the BDRRMC will be correlated with the profile of the staff, but not with

the household-respondents since they are not tasked with performing the functions of the

BDRRMC.

Review of Related Literature

This section presents significant related literatures that are considered in this

study.

Creation, Composition and Functions of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management Committee.

On the R.A. 10121 Orientation Seminar conducted by the Office of Civil Defense,

it has been presented that the Philippines’ location along the Pacific Typhoon Belt made

it prone to typhoon or hydrometeorological hazards. Based on the 2002 to 2012 data of

the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the country

experiences an average of twenty (20) typhoons a year, and 50% of it have damaging

effects to lives and properties. At the same time, Philippines is also situated along the

Pacific Ring of Fire that made it susceptible to earthquake and volcanic eruptions. These

risks made the Philippine Disaster Management System to undergo a paradigm shift.
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From Presidential Decree 1566 to Republic Act 10121, from reactive to pro-active, from

top-down and centralized management to bottom-up and participatory disaster risk

reduction process. Republic Act 10121, also known as the Philippines Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act of 2010, is an Act focusing on strengthening

the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System. Through this Act, the

National DRRM Framework (NDRRMF) and National DRRM Plan (NDRRMP) were

developed. Both the NDRRMF and NDRRMP foresee a country which has “safer,

adaptive and disaster-resilient Filipino communities toward sustainable development”.

Together with the paradigm shift is the creation of the four thematic areas namely; a)

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, b) Disaster Preparedness, c) Disaster Response, and

d) Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery. Each area has long term goals and activities

which will lead to the attainment of overall vision in DRRM. According to the

NDRRMF, resources invested in the four thematic areas must prioritize disaster

prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation to be

more effective in attaining its goal and objectives. All of these were cascaded from

national government to the barangay, the smallest political unit in the archipelago; and

the nearest to the people in the localities serving as the primary planning and

implementing unit of government programs, projects and activities. As the political unit

in the grassroots level, the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management

Committee (BDRRMC) was mandated to implement RA 10121 (Antonio, 2017).

On Effectiveness of the BDRRMC.

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday vowed to

accelerate efforts to strengthen barangays’ preparedness in responding to disasters and

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other emergencies to minimize casualties and loss of property. DILG Secretary Benjamin

Abalos Jr. made this assurance as the Philippines was named as the country that is most

vulnerable to the effects of disasters.

Responding to the call of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Abalos said the DILG,

as the vice chair for the disaster preparedness cluster of the National Disaster Risk

Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), seeks to equip barangays with the

necessary knowledge, skills, and capacities to manage and reduce disaster risks to

become disaster prepared and resilient Filipino communities.

Barangays’ primary duties in disaster resilience include the establishment and

operationalization of the Barangay Risk Reduction Management Committees, the

development of barangay disaster risk reduction and management plans, and the

allocation of funds for disaster response and recovery (Philippine News Agency, 2022).

On Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Disaster prevention and mitigation are used as synonyms. Prevention is to ensure

that human action or natural phenomena do not result in disaster or emergency.

Preventive activities are aimed at trying to prevent future disasters, such as planting trees

on slopes to prevent landslides or a dam from controlling flooding. Prevention measures

are employed to eliminate or reduce the incidence of severity. Few such measures include

land use planning, preventing habitation in risk zones, disaster resistant buildings, finding

ways to reduce risk even before the disaster strikes and community awareness and

education. Mitigation along the same lines also means reducing the severity of the human

and material damage caused by the disaster. It consists of efforts directed toward
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preventing hazardous conditions from becoming disasters or minimizing their effects in

the event of a disaster. Some steps generally taken under the mitigation phase include

preparing building codes, demarcating hazardous zones, public awareness, and

vulnerability assessment. Measures to reduce or eliminate disaster risk are the focus of

the mitigation phase (Unacademy, 2022).

On Disaster Preparedness.

Disaster preparedness plays a critical role in mitigating the adverse health effects

of natural disaster. Preparedness is defined by the United Nations International Strategy

for Disaster Reduction as knowledge, capabilities, and actions of governments,

organizations, community groups, and individuals “to effectively anticipate, respond to,

and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events or conditions.”

Preparedness efforts range from individual-level activities, such as first aid training, to

household actions like stockpiling of equipment and supplies, community efforts like

training and field exercises, and governmental strategies, including early warning

systems, contingency plans, evacuation routes, and public information dissemination

(Chan, and Ho, 2018).

On Disaster Response.

The provision of emergency services and public assistance during or immediately

after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety, provide

education, and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

To meaningfully discuss disaster response, it is essential also to discuss disaster

and disaster management. Though there exists no consensus definition of disaster, the
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various definitions published by organizations and agencies at the forefront of disaster

management have overlapping concepts (Klein, and Irizarry, 2022).

On Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery.

Recovery is the restoration, and improvement where appropriate, of facilities,

livelihoods and living conditions of disaster-affected communities, including efforts to

reduce disaster risk factors.

The recovery task of rehabilitation and reconstruction begins soon after the

emergency phase has ended, and should be based on pre-existing strategies and policies

that facilitate clear institutional responsibilities for recovery action and enable public

participation. Recovery programmes, coupled with the heightened public awareness and

engagement after a disaster, afford a valuable opportunity to develop and implement

disaster risk reduction measures and to apply the “build back better” principle (ODPM,

2019).

The recovery phase of a disaster can last anywhere from six months to a year or

even longer depending on the severity of the incident. An example of “recovery” is

creating strategic protocols and action plans to address the most serious impacts of a

disaster. An organization will work to obtain new resources, rebuild or create

partnerships, and implement effective recovery strategies. The organization will also

want to take steps to reduce financial burdens, rebuild damaged structures and reduce

vulnerability to future disasters (Akita, 2020).

On age.
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The study of Viviani el al. (2021) emphasizes the productivity in older and

younger workers. The study revealed that 31% of the younger workers tend to be more

productive than the older workers. Younger workers possess higher energy and sufficient

education, skills and working experiences (Bostrom et al., 2015).

On the other hand, the study of Suttle (2017) revealed that age appears mostly to

affect the work performance of an employee, the BBC News article "How Aging Affects

Your Ability" notes that activities requiring sensory perception, selective attention,

working memory, information processing, quick reflexes, or physical strength are the

ones that are most likely to be impacted by aging in terms of job performance.

On Income/Salary

According to Kollmann et al (2019), monetary rewards is one of the causes why

younger and older employees tend to change motives or goals in the workplace. This

shows that the performance of an employee depends on how much they are compensated,

whether their salaries or monthly incomes are high or low; the higher the income, the

more competent and the better performance they provide in their workplace.

On Sex

According to the study of Lewis et al. (2019), the male paramedics are more

capable of executing pre-hospital skills than females. It shows that the males were usually

given more opportunities to perform advance skills which implies that male health

workers tend to have higher performance in pre-hospital care than female.

On Trainings
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Oltmanns (as cited in Ivelia (2018), stressed that trainings have positive effects on

the performance of health workers, it modifies employee’s hehavior, attitudes, values,

and their performance in the workplace. Training helps employees not only perform

better overall in their current jobs but also develop the knowledge, abilities, and attitudes

needed for future jobs, which helps the organization perform better overall.

On length of Service

Nufable (2017) states that the more years an employee in service tend to have a

higher level of job performance. This could be associated with the learnings, knowledge

and skills that the employees have gain throughout the years they are in the field.
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Conceptual Framework

This study revolves around the paradigm presented below:

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

BDRRMC Staff Effectiveness of the BDRRMC
Socio-demographic Factors
 disaster prevention and mitigation
 age  risk assessment
 sex  plans and policies
 civil status  early warning system
 highest educational attainment  environmental management
 family monthly income
 relevant trainings attended  disaster preparedness
 capacity development activities
Work-Related Factors  partnership mechanisms

 length of service
 disaster response
 number of relevant trainings attended
 search and rescue
 emergency relief
Household Respondents
Socio-demographic Factors  disaster rehabilitation and
recovery
 age
 early recovery
 sex
 medium to long-term recovery
 civil status
 highest educational attainment

Community-Related Factors

 classification
 coastal
 town proper
 interior
 appropriated budget for the BDRRMC
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Figure 1. The Research Paradigm

The paradigm shows the relationship between the level of effectiveness of the

BDRRMC respondents and their profile.

Operational Definition of Terms

To have a better and clearer understanding of the study, the following terms are

operationally defined.

For clarification and a better understanding of the different concepts of the study, the

following terms are defined operationally.

Level of the Effectiveness of the BDRRMC. This refers to the performance and

the level of effectiveness of the BDRRMC in responding to flood-prone barangays.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. This refers to the reducing of

vulnerability and exposure to disasters. Also, reducing the risk and coping the

impact of the disaster.

Disaster Preparedness. This refers to the awareness and the preparation

of

community to the threats and impacts of all hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities.

Disaster Response. This refers to the response and provide basic

subsistence needs of affected residents.

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Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery. This refers to the restoration and

rebuilding of the facilities of the affected residents.

Risk Assessment. This refers to the identification of disaster and the

extent of harming people, livelihood, and infrastructures.

Plans and Policies. This refers to the management plans and list of

policies in the Brangay Disaster Risk reduction management to disseminate and

serve as basis of responding to flood prone areas.

Early Warning System. This refers to the early warning information

communication of the BDRRMC to the people to prevents losses of life,

livelihood, and destruction of infrastructure.

Environmental Management. This refers to the management of the

residents to the environment through taking care of the earth and maintaining the

cleanliness and greenness to reduce the impact of disasters in the community.

Socio-demographic Factors. It refers to the socio-demographic characteristics of

the BDRRMC and household respondents.

Age. This refers to the chronological age of respondents from birth to the

time the study will be conducted.

Sex. This refers to the biological characteristics of the respondents,

whether male or female.

Civil Status. This refers to the legal status of the respondents, whether

single, married, separated, or widowed.

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Highest Educational Attainment. This refers to the highest level of

education obtained by the respondents.

Family monthly income. It refers to the combined family income of the

respondents monthly.

Length of Service. It refers to the period of time the BDRRMC

respondents have been assuming their functions in their respective communities.

Relevant Trainings Attended. This refers to the training that the

respondents attended to enhance their skills in attending flood-prone areas.

Community Related Factors. This refers to the location of the community and

what are the disasters they are experiencing.

Classification. This refers to the classification of the community where

the study takes place.

Coastal Community. It refers to the community site of the study

of which location lies along the South China Sea.

Interior Community. It refers to the community site of the study

of which location lies outside the central areas of the municipality.

Town proper Community. This refers to the community site of

the study of that lies within the town-proper.

Assumptions

This study will be guided by the following assumptions:

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1. The respondents are honest and objective in answering the questionnaires.

2. The instrument used in the data gathering is valid and reliable.

Hypotheses

Based on the statement of the problem, the following hypotheses is considered in

the conduct of the study:

1. There is a high level of effectiveness of the BDRRMCs.

2. There is no significant relationship between the level of effectiveness of the

BDRRMCs and their profile.

Research Methodology

This section presents the discussion of the research design, population, data

gathering instrument, data gathering procedure that will be employed in the research.

Research Design.

To realize the purpose of this study, the descriptive correlational method of

research will be utilized with the main objectives of describing the profile of the

respondents and identifying the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC,

including the relationship between the profile of BDRRMC respondents and their

profile.

Population and Sample.

The respondents of this study will be the _____ BDRRMC staff and

household respondents in Barangays Puro, Pantay Tamurong, and Villamar,

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Caoayan Ilocos Sur. The BDRRMC staff will be totally enumerated, while the

household respondents will be represented by the family heads in random

selection. of Magsingal, Ilocos The distribution of the summary of the population

and sample is presented in Table 1.

Table 1.
Distribution of Respondents
Barangay BDRRMC Household
Respondents Respondents n
(N)
Puro, Caoayan
Pantay Tamurong, Caoayan
Villamar, Caoayan
Total
Data Gathering Instrument.

A questionnaire checklist will be formulated by the researchers. Part I

will elicit data on the socio demographic profile of the respondents and the

community. Part II will gather information on the extent of effectiveness of the

BDRRMC.

The norms for interpretation for the performance of BDRRMC in disaster

risk reduction management are shown below:

Range of Score Item Descriptive Rating Overall Descriptive Rating

4.21 – 5.00 Always (A) Very High (VH)

3.41 – 4.20 Most of the Time (MT) High (H)

2.61 – 3.40 Often (O) Moderate (M)

1.81 – 2.60 Sometimes (O) Low (L)

1.00 – 1.80 Seldom (Se) Very Low (VL)

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Data Gathering Procedure.

The researchers will ask permission from the Barangay Captains of Puro,

Pantay Tamurong, and Villamar, in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur to float the

questionnaires to the BDRRMC staff and the household respondents. They will be

personally reached out to by the researchers. The nature and the objectives of the

study will be thorougly explained to the respondents. Upon accomplishing the

consent form, the participants who will willingly take part in the data gathering

will be given the questionnaire. The researchers will wait for the respondents to

finish answering the questionnaires to allow immediate retrieval. Compliance

with existing protocols on the control of COVID-19 disease shall be strictly

observed.

Ethical Considerations. The following ethical considerations were

applied in the study:

Conflict of Interest. The sites of the study will be in Barangays

Puro, Pantay Tamurong, and Villamar in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur. In this

study, conflict of interest will not be a problems because the researchers

are only interested in describing the profile of the respodents and the

community, and in identifying the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC

in the said communities..

Informed Consent. The researchers shall explain thoroughly to

the respondents the purpose and the benefits of the study. It shall be

explained to the respondents that their participation is purely voluntary,

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and they can withdraw their participation any time they wish. It was also

explained that the respondents are not receiving any amount of anything in

kind in exchange for their participation. The informed consent was

distributed to those who willingly participated.

Confidentiality. The identity of the respondents shall be

conceived by assigning a code to each of them, not by their names. The

questionnaires containing the gathered data are kept in a locker, allowing

no access to no one except the researchers, and be destroyed by burning

when they are no longer needed, such as when the study have been

completed and reviewed with finality by the panel.

Risks. There are no identified risks in the conduct of the study.

Personal threats to injuries or damages are least likely to intervene as the

participation of the respondents is purely voluntary, the site of the research

study is accessible to the student researchers, and the identity and answers

of the respondents will be kept confidential. Furthermore, the questions

do not delve with personal issues but shall be carefully formulated to

describe the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC, and shall be tailored

in a non-offensive manner that the respondents could readily understand.

Benefits. This The results of the study could serve as a basis in

policy formulation and program implementation on furthering the

effectiveness of the BDRRMC in respondents communities, including the

municipal, provincial and the national levels.

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Compensation/Incentives. It shall be emphasized in the informed

consent that the participation of the respondents is purely voluntary.

Hence, there will be no forms of compensation to be extended to the

respondents, both in monetary equivalent and in-kind.

Community Considerations. The results of the study shall be

disseminated to the concerned communities, including other avenues at the

local, provincial or national levels. Extension activities by the academic

unit wherein the student researchers come from can be taken as

opportunities for disseminating the results of this study.

Statistical treatment of the data. To attain the objectives set for this study, the

following statistical tools were used to treat the data that was gathered:

1. Frequency count and percentage distribution. To describe the

respondents in terms of personal and learning factors.

2. Mean. To determine the extent of effectiveness of the BDRRMC.

3. Simple Linear Correlational Analysis. To determine the significant

relationship between the profile of the community, the BDRRMC

respondents, and the extent of their effectiveness.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal
change. Simon & Schuster.

Journals

Electronic Sources

DILG (2020). Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Act. dilg.gov.ph
http://downloads.caraga.dilg.gov.ph › ...

The Disaster Management Cycle: 5 Key Stages. UCF Online. Retrieved from https://ww
w.ucf.edu › leadership-management › news › on Fbruary 17, 2023.
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FAO of the United Nations. (2011, December 1). The National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Plan. Https://Www.Fao.Org/Faolex/Results/Details/En/c/LEX-
FAOC152518/#. https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC152518/#