Establishing disaster volunteers competency framework in the Philippine disaster risk reduction and management system /
Elvis S. Cruz.
- 146 leaves : color illustrations
Public Management Development Program
In the general perspective, the concept of volunteering refers to - rendering of service by choice of or free will for the benefit of the wider community by an individual, group, or institution without necessarily expecting monetary gain in full knowledge and appreciation of being a volunteer. In the last decades, government has recognized the critical contribution that volunteering makes to build a strong and cohesive society. It has promoted volunteering as the essential act of citizenship, a means for combating social exclusion, and an important contributor to the delivery of high quality public services. Responding to disasters has become not only a national but also an international concern especially with the growing impact and consequences of environmental challenges and climate changes. While each disaster event is unique, its adverse effects are the same - human life loss, environmental damages, and the painstaking process of recovering from the trauma of disaster-experience. The Philippines is highly vulnerable to both human-induced hazards such as fire and armed conflicts as well as natural hazards such as landslides, typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunami. In fact, being in the path of turbulent typhoons, the country experiences an average of 20 crossing annually in the Philippine area of responsibility. Moreover, the archipelagic nature of the Philippines' coastal areas increases susceptibility to storm surges, tsunamis and sea level changes. In fact, Metro Manila alone has a substantial share of seismic and extreme climate variability risks with five (5) tropical cyclones affecting it annually. Aware of these challenges, the Philippine government has Republic Act No. 10121 in 2010, "an Act Strengthening the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System, Providing for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Framework and Institutionalizing the National Disaster Rick Reduction and Management Plan, Appropriating Funds Therefor and for other Purposes." Subsequently, together with the new law, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) was crafted in 2012 which provides for the DisasterRisk Reduction and Management System (DRRMS) in the country. The institutional structure that deals with disasters is centered in these four thematic areas. The Administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) acts as the NDRRMC Executive Director. (RA 10121, 2010) As experienced during major disaster and emergencies, volunteer augmented the limited resources of the government in responding immediately on the needs of the communities. The volunteers support responders in saving lives and properties, they (volunteers) also provide immediate relief and shelters to the affected areas as well as support up to recovery period.Volunteers have a crucial role in four (4) thematic areas of the Philippines Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRMS): Disaster Prevention/Mitigation, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Response and Disaster Rehabilitation/Recovery. Their engagements are mostly in volunteeerism and their lives are exposed to various treats. In order to support the disaster volunteers on their volunteerism actions the law provided support and benefits to disaster volunteers if they incurred injury or death while engage in times of disaster and calamities. While these are four thematic areas involved in disaster management, this project will focus mainly on the Disaster Preparedness and Response performed to some degree before, during, and after disasters.Disaster response is inherently a uniformed personnel (military, coast guard and police) operation, but with the various environmental challenges the country faces today comes evolving roles of the volunteers as well. Significantly, the approach to disaster nowadays has become holistic and interoperable, with various key government agencies and disaster community volunteers are called to be involved in strengthening the country's institutional capacity against disasters. Hence, this study carefully assessed the competency level of responsiveness of the Disaster Volunteers through the Provincial, Cities and Municipalities in delivering response interventions within the CALABARZON Region. Similarly, it looked into the existing and possible coordination mechanism in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation (DRR and CCA) with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) IVA with power to govern the 5 provinces, 1 highly urbanized city, 18 components cities, 124 municipalities and 4,011 barangays. This project also aimed to identify the challenges and shortcomings in the delivery of DRR and CCA with CALABARZON and assessing the indicators of responsiveness as basis for future improvement of disaster preparedness and response interventions by the volunteers. The competency framework of this project could significantly contribute in the future to pool of evidence can provide the basis for increasing disaster response schemes as an intrinsic goal in disaster interventions.