Last February 25 – March 02, 2013, DILG-Camarines Norte conducted a 3-day DRRM Training and Contingency Planning Workshop for barangay officials. Held in two batches in Bel-air Resort, Daet, Camarines Norte, the activity was participated by 203 barangay officials coming from  the 27  barangays of Jose Panganiban. Barangays from Sta. Elena and San Vicente are likewise scheduled this March 11-13, 2013. Expected outputs from the training-workshop are the reformulated Barangay DRRM Plan and the Barangay Contingency Plan for each participating barangay.

The initiative was brought into being owing to notion that the dependency on local government interventions of vulnerable communities during disasters is prevalent among high risk barangays. Putting in place the groundwork, the said intervention was also envisioned in transforming subject segments of population into proactive and self reliant communities.

The activity was more skewed on strengthening the capacities of community people specially the vulnerable segments of the population in terms of increasing their awareness and improving their decision-making and response skills as first responders; this can be only attained if people are equipped with adequate information, aided with early warning systems, and guided with a responsive and informative community plan.

Corollary, it was also viewed that the constant community-based DRRM interventions are expected to improve resiliency of the vulnerable and hazard-exposed barangay constituencies with enhanced individual capacities to cope with natural and man-made stressors.

As an another bottom-up and participatory approach, several other societal outcomes that can be generated from the approach are the promotion of shared responsibility, sense of accountability, people empowerment, ownership and with culture of safety being cultivated.

With the approach, and given the perceived positive results that can be drawn from the activity, many other barangays and municipalities are likewise expected to undergo similar undertaking. – (PD Edwin F. Garcia)