Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

Hazardous

Given that Lucban Quezon is a small town, the lack of space for safe houses in times of calamity is evident however Brgy. 9 personnels, especially Brgy. Captain Peter told us that given Lucban’s geographical location, and base on my experience living here, there isn’t any pollution, waste problem, floods, land slide, or any calamity involved problems. Lucban is a quiet and peaceful town. 

Safest Spaces

Since calamity involved problems never happens in Lucban Quezon, the safest spaces that the community thinks that they have is in the comfort of their homes and the barangay halls. Barangay halls are included because the barangay personnels are open to the public to serve and protect. 

Best Practices

Transparency in terms of the budget and programs being produced is evident as seen in their information board posted outside. Brgy. 9 officials thrive to improve the quality of life of the people by being open Monday to Friday and sometimes Saturday, unlike other barangay thats only until Friday

REMEMBER: Mother Teresa once said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” This project the notion that every effort and every action counts. It accumulates into something bigger. In a community, everyone matters and everyone should always put in mind that every move that they’ll make will affect their community. 

 (1) Lucban, Quezon is a small town located at the foot of Mount Banahaw. It is known for its cool climate and abundant agricultural sector. One of the strong points of living in Lucban for more than nineteen (19) years is that I’ve notice that there are seldom problems in terms of calamity,  pollution and waste management since the municipality thrives to do actions that solves issues before it even grows. Since Lucban is in a high location, full of plains, certain calamity is not possible such as floods and landslides. Currently, the town has a law that prohibits the use of plastics and does not have a sector for cleaning since majority of the people in the community cleans the front, back and even sides of their houses. Perks of living in a rural area. The municipality also implements strict rules regarding safety thus the curfew for minors and municipality cars that roam around for announcements in order to inform people with or without internet. The municipality and barangay halls are open to the public in the weekdays and some even until Saturday. The reason is that help is always available to the people. 

(2) According to Barangay Captain Alex Dahilig, in his 12 years of service, up until now, there are little to no issues regarding the community of Brgy. 9. Their mentality is  prevention is better than cure thus they implement clean and green programs for the prevention of any diseases. Waste management is also well taken care of since the schedule of collection is always on time and since Lucban is rich in its agricultural sector, it is due to the biodegradable waste that’s been recycle to produce fertilizers. In addition, safety is an outmost importance so amidst little to no crime, the barangay personnel still strictly implement and monitor the curfew in the sector that they are tasked to. It is to prevent any crimes to even started. Lastly, an adequate sum of money is provided by the municipality. 

(3) Unlike the disaster situation of the Philippines, the security and trust of the public fluctuates. One of the reasons is budget. Budget plays a huge role in disasters and calamities. Given that its the whole Philippines and the scope is huge, the budget must be in the same level to the scope in must cater. Unfortunately, according to the report of Jess Diaz, March 23, 2019, Congress cuts Duterte calamity fund by P11 billion. This shows that there’s a possibility that it may have an effect if a calamity strikes. 

Another reason is the location, Lucban is just a small town thus getting help and providing service in all corners of the town is fairly easy however since the Philippines is an archipelago and is composed of 7,107 island, it hard to help everyone in times of need. Delivering goods is difficult due to the fact that the state of calamity has made it difficult to travel and deliver the goods.

Lastly, the personnel. The goal of the Brgy. 9 personnel is to prevent. So far, they have proven that they can minimize the the spread of disease by monitoring and strict implementation, unlike the nationwide scope where there is a need for improvement in addressing disaster problems. According to John Algo of the Philippine Star, in his article, “A new way to address the disaster problem”, there are ways to do so. First is the establishment of the Climate and Disaster Research, Education, and Training Institute where education for these calamities will be prioritzed. Second, providing guidelines for using the National and Local Disaster Resilience Funds. Transparency is the key to an honest service and both local and national agencies will be able to produce the best services that they could offer. It’s also a form of monitoring.Lastly, the bill should place more attention on disaster preparedness and response. 

It’s important that we perform our duties as individuals thats part of a community. Every action that we take contributes to the make or break of a harmonious and peaceful community. As a member of the community, I can address these problems by first being educated to the issues involved, second is by volunteering or lending a hand and lastly is by influencing others to join the cause. 

SOME PROGRAMS BEING IMPLEMENTED:

Algo, J. L. C. (2019, October 4). A new way to address the disaster problem. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://opinion.inquirer.net/116526/new-way-address-disaster-problem

Diaz, J. (2019, March 22). Congress cuts Duterte calamity fund by P11 billion. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/03/23/1903757/congress-cuts-duterte-calamity-fund-p11-billion.

Ellevate. (2019, August 29). Quotes About The Power of Community. Retrieved December 8, 2019, from https://www.ellevatenetwork.com/articles/8538-quotes-about-the-power-of-community.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.