Baranggay 463, Zone 46, Sampaloc Manila

‘Precaution is better than cure’

— Eduard Coke.

Visiting the famous baranggay known to UST students, Baranggay Bomber, the home for athletic events due to its court, is also known as Brgy. 463, Zone 46. Join the journey as I explore the system of the baranggay in preventing disasters. Learn how they prepare and acknowledge the dangers the area possess.

Being a student of UST, I am surrounded by various baranggays from the streets of Padre Noval, Padre Tolentino, and Padre Campa. Each street holds at least two or more baranggays under its jurisdiction. Being around the vicinity, the task to assess one of the baranggays gave a chance to explore and know more about Baranggay Bomber.

Upon searching for an authority to talk about the specifics of the baranggay about its hazard identification, vulnerability assessment, capacity awareness, and prevention programs I stumbled across Kagawad Manuel Palaganas. Kagawad Manny is a long existing figure in the community, serving for fifteen (15) years. He knows the ins and outs of the community and the stories across the years.

Talking with Kagawad Manny has opened multiple insights of the baranggay towards safety and risk reduction. Knowing the area has been prone to multiple disaster such as flooding from the past years, I asked him about what are the possible risks he sees imminent on the area. He then responded: ‘Itong kahabaan namen, yang mga bahay diyan, gawa yan sa kahoy.’ [The houses here on our area are made of wood]. Manuel points out the fire hazards the consecutive houses made with wood as risk for the community.

Other than the fire risk, he stated also the former threat of flooding: ‘Oo dati kapag bumaha dito hanggang bewang yan, yung ref namin dati nung nag-Ondoy nakataas yan sa second floor.’ [Yes, before if the it rains too much the flood reaches up above the human waist. Our ref during typhoon Ondoy was brought up to the second floor of our home]. However, with the government’s action to the flooding, he said that even heavy downpour the proper drainage system solved the problem.

Kagawad Manuel told me that the fire hazards and the possibility of an earthquake are the only thing that concerns the community right now which makes them feel vulnerable. He pointed out the hazardous places in the community such as the leaning condominium and the low grounds of the baranggay.

He also discussed with me the programs that the government officials of Baranggay 463 does frequently to remind the citizens what to do and where to go in case a calamity or disaster struck the community. To address the fire hazard, seminars which include drills every month are commenced. The reminders are amplified by constant practice of the residents through responding to the baranggay’s alert system which uses different types of tune depending on the danger the community faces.

The alarm system is installed in various places around the community. It serves as the warning device and the signal for the residents’ to prepare and assess the situation during disaster. For floods, the community uses a gauge installed in the posts in the area to gauge how high the flood is and if it is still safe to travel. The red levels indicate that the residents should stay at their homes and wait for rescue. During earthquakes, they encourage the residents to stay at home and practice the duck, cover, and hold during the earthquake and quickly evacuate to the safe spaces or the evacuation centers in the area after the quakes. All of these information and practice are attained by the residents of the area for every month.

During my talk with Kagawad Manuel, I noticed that the community has prepared continuously with the active participation of the residents. They willingly participate with the programs that ready them for the future risks and that lowers the chances of casualties during the actual event. The government officials are active in reaching their residents and very open to the fact that risks are just around the corner. In the current situation of the country which is exposed to multiple disaster due to lack of preparation, I think the relationship of the residents and the government of Baranggay 463 could be emulated to secure or limit the casualty rates in the future. We need to address the issues of the country in risk reduction especially with the issues of budget reduction and unawareness of Filipinos of the standard procedures before, during, and after calamities struck the country. Just like Baranggay Bomber, we should be ready and knowledgeable. As part of a community, it is our responsibility to emulate practices and impart knowledge to our fellow residents and be an active participant in the drills which would play a huge effect once disaster hit the country. Knowing is a huge step, but active participation extends the reach even farther more.

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