DRRM Assesment of Barangay Bahay Toro
By: Benedict Sajor - L-AB-4
On December 9, 2019, I personally went to barangay Bahay Toro and spoke to kagawad Mark Baguino about the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management concerns of the barangay Bahay Toro. The barangay is situated on 1, Road 11, corner Road 12, Quezon City, 1100 Metro Manila.
It came as a surprise when I found out that there were also fellow Thomasians who shares the same agenda as I am. For the benefit of all, we decided to ask our separate questions, and held a group interview to kagawad Mark Baguino.
We were told that Barangay Bahay Toro is most vulnerable to flooding and fire. Kagawad Baguino specified that he is more worried about the fire than the flood. According to the Fire Code of the Philippines, fire is the active principle of burning, characterized by the
heat and light of combustion. Fire can cause major disasters and loss of lives in buildings such offices,
hotels, hospitals, schools and homes. Such disasters can be avoided if proper fire safety practices are
observed. It can spread easily especially on illegal settler's area where houses are close to one another.
'Ang baha dito sa amin, mabilis lang naman humupa. Pero yung sunog, lalo na yung sa Sinagtala dati na 1000 pamilya yung naapektuhan, mas nakakapagpabahala' (Baguino, M.,2019)
The barangay knows when there is a disaster when they hear the news. They rely on PAG-ASA for weather updates and deliver it to people when the disaster really dangerous. For many years now, the barangay proudly stated that disasters rarely happens and only 2 fire instances were recorded in the recent year. One was the infamous Sinagtala incident on 2019 which affected 1000 families and the other was a small fire incident on GSIS village on 2018 which only affected 10 families. The Sitio Sinagtala incident was disheartening because majority of the people affected were already poor and the fire certainly did not help.
Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwis9pnNl6jmAhWMd94KHe6zD6AQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Ftempo.com.ph%2F2019%2F05%2F01%2Fover-1000-families-lose-homes-in-qc-fires%2F&psig=AOvVaw30uriiVAOxwleLqCPTxRxp&ust=1575967763271376
Due to the gravity of the fire, the victims were temporarily evacuated to the covered court of Bahay Toro were they received temporary shelter and relief goods services.
Barangay Toro has many uphills and downhills. So in case of flooding, places on uphill are definitely the safest because the flood will not reach the households above. Here are the photos that can be considered to be safe places:
Here are the hazardous places in our barangay that are prone to flooding and fire:
Although there are plenty of hazardous places, kagawad Mark Baguino promised that the barangay has plans to prevent the disaster from happening or at least minimize it. One of the ways to reduce the risk for reduction is having a fire station nearby in fire prone areas in case of fire. Although there are only one fire truck available, the kagawad assured us that it is plenty and it can respond to disaster.
The barangay also practice proper segregation of waste which lessens the burden of garbage collectors. It also promotes recycling and effective proper waste disposal. Trash bins are important in the community because it maintains the cleanliness of the street. When the street is clean, floods are less likely to happen because the sewage system will work effectively.
Here are the streets which practices cleanliness:
Although the barangay is maintained cleaned, and there is a fire station to combat fire, the kagawad stated that no matter how great the DRRM plan of the barangay, it is still not enough if the people themselves do not follow the law. It must be noted that the best way to prevent hazards is to do things safely and predict the future. It is reassuring to know that the barangay is active on preventing hazards and providing safety to the community. It must be emphasized that the barangay can only offer help in case of disaster, but the task to prevent it from happening solely lies from the people. That is why it is important that we double-check everything and practice safety measure all the time.
References:
https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/4/30/Two-Quezon-City-barangays-fire-.html
http://bfp.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Fire-Code-of-the-Philippines-2008-IRR.pdf
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/674527/fire-hits-residential-area-in-barangay-bahay-toro/story/
'Ang baha dito sa amin, mabilis lang naman humupa. Pero yung sunog, lalo na yung sa Sinagtala dati na 1000 pamilya yung naapektuhan, mas nakakapagpabahala' (Baguino, M.,2019)
The barangay knows when there is a disaster when they hear the news. They rely on PAG-ASA for weather updates and deliver it to people when the disaster really dangerous. For many years now, the barangay proudly stated that disasters rarely happens and only 2 fire instances were recorded in the recent year. One was the infamous Sinagtala incident on 2019 which affected 1000 families and the other was a small fire incident on GSIS village on 2018 which only affected 10 families. The Sitio Sinagtala incident was disheartening because majority of the people affected were already poor and the fire certainly did not help.
Due to the gravity of the fire, the victims were temporarily evacuated to the covered court of Bahay Toro were they received temporary shelter and relief goods services.
Barangay Toro has many uphills and downhills. So in case of flooding, places on uphill are definitely the safest because the flood will not reach the households above. Here are the photos that can be considered to be safe places:
Although there are plenty of hazardous places, kagawad Mark Baguino promised that the barangay has plans to prevent the disaster from happening or at least minimize it. One of the ways to reduce the risk for reduction is having a fire station nearby in fire prone areas in case of fire. Although there are only one fire truck available, the kagawad assured us that it is plenty and it can respond to disaster.
The barangay also practice proper segregation of waste which lessens the burden of garbage collectors. It also promotes recycling and effective proper waste disposal. Trash bins are important in the community because it maintains the cleanliness of the street. When the street is clean, floods are less likely to happen because the sewage system will work effectively.
Here are the streets which practices cleanliness:
Although the barangay is maintained cleaned, and there is a fire station to combat fire, the kagawad stated that no matter how great the DRRM plan of the barangay, it is still not enough if the people themselves do not follow the law. It must be noted that the best way to prevent hazards is to do things safely and predict the future. It is reassuring to know that the barangay is active on preventing hazards and providing safety to the community. It must be emphasized that the barangay can only offer help in case of disaster, but the task to prevent it from happening solely lies from the people. That is why it is important that we double-check everything and practice safety measure all the time.
References:
https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/4/30/Two-Quezon-City-barangays-fire-.html
http://bfp.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Fire-Code-of-the-Philippines-2008-IRR.pdf
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/metro/674527/fire-hits-residential-area-in-barangay-bahay-toro/story/
Comments
Post a Comment