This year, and for the past 5 years, I have been residing in a townhouse in Barangay Horseshoe. This little barangay, can easily be identified on the map because of its horseshoe-like appearance, hence it has taken after this name. For the time that I have been residing in this barangay, I have always known it to be safe and secure even during the harshest of weather conditions. However, I could just be uninformed and unaware about the dangers present within my barangay. In line with this, I was able to learn more about my barangay through the NSTP task, “Barangay Kwentuhahan” . 

Upon my visit to the Horseshoe Barangay Hall, I was lucky enough to get a chance to interview Mr. Francisco M. Aguilar, who is the Barangay Captain himself. He quickly obliged to answering all my queries even though I had only set up an appointment with the Barangay Secretary. All he needed was a quick glance at the questions, and then he was immediately ready to answer.

Mr. Aguilar explained to me the current situation of our barangay. He told me that we are practically safe from any natural disaster that can be predicted such as typhoons, storms, floods and the like. This is because our land is on the elevated side of Metro Manila and also because the drainage system around Horseshoe is very efficient and well-maintained. However, the only calamity that scares the Barangay Captain and puts the barangay in harms way is an earthquake, most especially the “Big One” that is said to hit a big portion of Metro Manila. Aside from this, we are relatively safe and well-equipped in case any disaster strikes the barangay.

Apart from being safe from floods and typhoons, there exists another problem within the barangay and it is called liquefaction. This phenomenon occurs because the land has gradually lost its stiffness and strength to support whatever is on top of it. Because of this, buildings or infrastructure gradually get absorbed by the ground much like how a liquid would absorb things. Mr. Aguilar fears that the “Big One” could also worsen this problem. As of now however, they are looking into this problem so as to understand the underlying cause of the issue.

All-in-all, I was able to learn a lot from our Barangay Captain. He enlightened me on lot of things that I would not have the capacity to find out myself. It really made me feel that there’s so much more around me that I do not understand, and that I should have the initiative to find new learning experiences in order to grasp more knowledge. From this experience I can say that I now know more and understand more about situation our barangay is in. Fortunately, our barangay officials have prepared our barangay well and equipped it with the necessary supplies in case a calamity hits. Now that I know more about the proper protocols and the respective evacuation sites, I can already inform my fellow neighbors and family members and lead them to safety in the occurrence of a natural disaster. This is made me realize how lucky we are to be in Barangay Horseshoe, but at the same time it makes me worry for citizens that live in different areas of the Philippines.

The Philippines is usually hit by a wide spread of different natural disasters and calamities due to its geographical location. Even with how frequently we are hit by these disasters, there are still places that are not equipped to handling disaster-related problems. This makes me worry because, as is our barangay is prepared to combat disasters and problems related to it, however other barangays are not as fortunate. It is my desire to eventually be able to see our country’s progress towards sustainability when it comes to handling hazards, but I know that it is still a far stretch from where we are now. Hopefully with the help of the NSTP program, other students like me will be inspired to learn more and their own barangays and their own risk reduction plans within their own communities.

This stands as my resolution and my takeaway from this activity. I would like to be able to resolve this issue gradually within the country. For it to happen, people need to start becoming more aware about the situation within their communities. They need to take action into learning more the risks that can pose a threat to their security and safety. If this can be achieved, only then will they be able to bring up their own concerns with the proper authorities that can help resolve them. Authorities should also learn and develop their communities based on the progress and knowledge from other more successful and knowledgeable places. By doing so, they can improve on what is already sustainable and pattern it to the needs of their own place. This should be the starting point of the Filipino citizens and they should start taking action now. Disaster risk reduction is not only a concern of small individual locations, but also of the nation. By starting with small places of concern, people and authority figures can gradually build up plans that can work for the entire country. This way of thinking should start now before it’s all too late.