Notes in CFE 5B – CICM Mission in Action: Environment Protection and Management

Chapter 3
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT

Lesson 2
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

CONTEXT
The character of the Philippines being an archipelagic, volcanic and tropical
country brings about its vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change. At present,
climate change poses a challenge for the Philippines due to its geographic position, being
next to the Pacific Ocean and part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. In fact, the Philippines is the
third highest country at risk to natural disasters. Natural hazards pose risks to people’s
lives. With climate change, these hazards may be more frequent, erratic and severe. Thus,
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management should be part of environmental programs.

INSPIRED WORD OF GOD: The Two Foundations (Matthew 7:24-27)

24 [Jesus said,] "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on

them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house,

but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them

will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against

that house, and it fell — and great was its fall!"

It may be out of date to say that the Bible addresses environmental issues because
there were none during the ancient times. This parable found at the end of the Sermon
on the Mount literally describes the wise and the foolish builder. Nevertheless, the
apostle and evangelist Matthew gives an insight about disaster preparedness.
Disasters can be natural or man-made and result to human threats to livelihood,
property, and even life. Severe weather disturbances bring heavy rains and strong winds
that often result to floods in low-lying areas, landslides in mountainous areas and storm
surges in coastal areas. Our own experience of severe weather disturbances enjoins us to
do some precautionary measures and preparations in the face of tropical cyclones. Above
all, our own experience of disasters bids us to act collaboratively in the face of any kind
of disaster.

CHURCH TEACHING
With the eruption of Taal Volcano in January 2020 and “other natural disasters like
the destructive typhoons that hit the country, the devastating floods that left many
homeless and prostrate, earthquakes that have wrecked buildings, lives and the basic
sense of security without which we cannot live in tranquility, and sicknesses and
infections never heard before threatening us”, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines issued Fire and Heat, Lightnings and Clouds, Bless the Lord!, a Pastoral Message
on the Natural Disasters Happening in the Country. In it, the Bishops write:
“…Unfortunately, persons who live close to volcanoes, or who build
their homes along waterways, or who live along the corridor of typhoons
and hurricanes are the victims of destruction and the hapless sufferers, not
because God punishes them. It is not because God hates them, but because
that is just the nature of this imperfect world. It is a world where the
activities of humankind and the processes of nature do not always coincide
with each other.

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Notes in CFE 5B – CICM Mission in Action: Environment Protection and Management
Earthquakes and typhoons and ash falls are signs that we are still
living in an imperfect natural world. They are natural disasters.
God accompanies us in the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and
floods and storms not as a Great Punisher but as the Great Loving
Emmanuel, One to whom we can turn assured that He will never forsake
the people who call on His name. These calamities can be opportunities for
grace and blessings. …
Indeed it is not the unpredictable processes of the earth that militate
against God’s existence and his goodness. It is rather the resolve that we
will rise from where we fall, that we will extend helping hands to those who
can no longer rise. It likewise involves putting our scientific acumen and
our human intelligence into understanding volcanoes and earthquakes and
typhoons and draughts and floods better so that we can plan our lives
relying less on chance and more on human providence. …
Knowing that we are a disaster-prone country particularly because
we lie in the Pacific Ring of Fire, as well as within the typhoon belt along
the gateway to Southeast Asia, as well as the zone where the tectonic plates
collide and push against each other with unimaginable force, disaster
preparedness cannot be a peripheral concern. …”
In its pastoral letter, An Urgent Call for Ecological Conversion, Hope in the Face of
Climate Emergency (2019), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
recommended to “strengthen adaptation measures and disaster risk management and
reduction for our vulnerable communities and advocate the prioritization of government
budget allocation for climate resilient adaptation programs.”

In May 27, 2010, Republic Act 10121 or The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Act of 2010 was passed into law. This existing mandate acknowledges
among other things and paved the way for the need “to adopt a disaster risk reduction
and management approach that is holistic, comprehensive, integrated, and proactive in
lessening the socio-economic and environmental impacts of disasters including climate
change, and promote the involvement and participation of all sectors and all stakeholders
concerned, at all levels, especially the local community.”
RA 10121 provides a strong legal and institutional basis for Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management in the country and gives a boost to the development of
policies and plans and the implementation of actions and measures pertaining to all
aspects of disaster risk reduction and management, including good governance, risk
assessment and early warning, knowledge building and awareness raising, reducing
underlying risk factors, and preparedness for effective response and early recovery.
Under Section 3 of RA 10121, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) is the concept and
practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyze and manage the
causal factors of disasters, including through reduced exposures to hazards, lessened
vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment,
and improved preparedness for adverse events. Also, Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management (DRRM) is the systematic process of using administrative directives,
organizations, and operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and
improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and the
possibility of disaster.
On June 16, 2011, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Framework was approved by the executive committee of the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council. The framework is in conformity with and captures
the essence and priorities of RA 10121.
The Framework, through the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Plan, envisions a country which has “safer, adaptive and disaster-resilient Filipino
communities toward sustainable development.” This will be achieved through the four
distinct yet mutually reinforcing priority areas. Each priority area has its own long term
goal, which when put together will lead to the attainment of our country’s over
goal/vision in DRRM. The four priority areas are:
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Notes in CFE 5B – CICM Mission in Action: Environment Protection and Management
1. Prevention and Mitigation
Under Section 3 of RA 10121, Disaster Prevention is the outright avoidance of
adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters. It expresses the concept and intention
to completely avoid potential adverse impacts through action taken in advance such as
construction or dams or embankments that eliminate flood risks, land-use regulations
that do not permit any settlement in high-risk zones and seismic engineering designs that
ensure the survival and function of a critical building in any likely earthquake.
On the other hand, Disaster Mitigation is the lessening or limitation of the adverse
impacts of hazards and related disasters. Mitigation measures encompass engineering
techniques and hazard- resilient construction as well as improved environmental policies
and public awareness.
2. Preparedness
RA 10121 defines Disaster Preparedness as the knowledge and capacities
developed by governments, professional response and recovery organizations,
communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from the
impacts of likely, imminent or current hazard events or conditions. Preparedness action
is carried out within the context of DRRM and aims to build the capacities needed to
efficiently manage all types of emergencies and achieve orderly transitions from response
to sustained recovery. Preparedness is based on a sound analysis of DRR and good
linkages with early warning systems and includes such activities as contingency
planning, stockpiling of equipment and supplies, the development of arrangements for
coordination, evacuation and public information and associated training and field
exercises. These must be supported by formal, institutional, legal and budgetary
capacities.
3. Response
RA 10121 defines Disaster Response as 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 and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people
affected. Disaster response is predominantly focused on immediate and short-term needs
and is sometimes called “disaster relief.”
4. Rehabilitation and Recovery
RA 10121 defines Rehabilitation as measures that ensure the ability of affecting
communities and/or areas to restore their normal level of functioning by rebuilding
livelihood and damaged infrastructure and increasing the communities’ organizational
capacity.
Under Section 1, Rule 2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 10121,
Early Recovery is the multidimensional process of recovery that begins in a humanitarian
setting. It is guided by development principles that seek to build on humanitarian
programs and catalyze sustainable development opportunities. It aims to generate self-
sustaining, nationally-owned, resilient processes for post-crisis recovery. It encompasses
the restoration of basic services, livelihoods, governance, security and rule of law,
environment and social dimensions, including reintegration of displaced populations.
On the other hand, Post Disaster Recovery is the restoration and improvement
where appropriate, of facilities, livelihood and living conditions of disaster-affected
communities, including efforts to reduce disaster risk factors, in accordance with the
principles of “build back better”.
Executive Order No. 137 dated August 10, 1999 declares July every year as
National Disaster Consciousness Month. National Disaster Consciousness Month aims to
increase the awareness of every Filipino to the ever-threatening disasters for a better
appreciation of the government’s disaster preparedness program.

MISSIONARY RESPONSE
In its 2014 Pastoral Exhortation on Climate Change All Creation… Bless the Lord!,
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines writes:
“Finally, even as we do our best as individuals and communities to
curb climate change, we must realize it is already upon us. In government
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Notes in CFE 5B – CICM Mission in Action: Environment Protection and Management
and civic circles the prevailing paradigm is one of ‘Climate Change
Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management’ (CCA-DRRM).
With climate change, our risk to disasters increases as the probability of
extreme events increases.
As Filipino Catholics, we ask ourselves, how do we help build this
inherent awareness of our risk to disasters and to the impacts of climate
change? Do we talk about disasters and prepare for them accordingly in our
families and communities? Integral to this would be knowing the hazards
that we face, knowing our environment, knowing our community, and
working with our government and civil society organizations to prepare for
the future.”

References:
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. (2019, July 16). An Urgent Call for
Ecological Conversion, Hope in the Face of Climate Emergency.
https://cbcponline.net/an-urgent-call-for-ecological-conversion-hope-in-the-
face-of-climate-emergency/
_______________. (2014, October 04). All Creation… Bless the Lord!
https://cbcponline.net/all-creation-bless-the-lord-daniel-357/
_______________. (2020, January 27). Fire and Heat, Lightnings and Clouds, Bless the Lord!
https://cbcponline.net/pastoral-message-on-the-natural-calamities-happening-
in-the-country/
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. (2018). JEEPGY Manual. Catholic
Educational Association of the Philippines.
Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010. Republic Act No. 10121.
(2010). https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2010/05/27/republic-act-no-10121/

Prepared by:
MICHAEL ANGELO F. EMPIZO
Saint Louis College, City of San Fernando, La Union
Easter Sunday
April 04, 2021

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