A Documentation of the 10-Point Checklist for Making San Francisco, Camotes Resilient to Disasters Sasakawa Award Nomination Submission February 2011 Municipal Profile The Municipality of San Francisco, which is among the four municipalities that constitute the Camotes Group of Islands in Central Philippines, has high vulnerability to multiple geohazards. Such hazards include typhoons, floods, landslide and strong monsoon winds. Moreover, communities are also vulnerable to fires as most houses are made of light materials. As a third class municipality, San Francisco faces an additional challenge of the economic impacts of calamities and disasters. With a population mainly dependent on the sea and land for sustenance, strong winds and heavy rains greatly affect their ability to pursue their respective livelihoods especially in fishing and farming. Being an island municipality, access to supplies from the mainland of Cebu Province is made more difficult during stormy weather, thus aggravating the vulnerabilities of the people of San Francisco. Figure 1. Profile Map of the Municipality of San Francisco Figures 2-8. Municipal Hazard Maps Common hazards that affect communities Flooding Typhoons and Monsoon Winds Given their high vulnerability to multiple hazards, the Municipality of San Francisco believes that making their island resilient to disaster is an important agenda for the Local Government. And key to building resilience is empowering people through providing the environment for communities to create local and practical solutions to achieve Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) objectives. The Ten Point Essentials: San Francisco is getting ready Essential # 1: Put in place organization and coordination to clarify everyone’s roles and responsibilities. Institutionalized the Purok System in implementing the DRRM program of the municipality. The Purok system builds on existing indigenous social organization (the sub-village) for mobilizing local resources in creating local and practical solutions to address community needs. There are 120 existing purok organizations in 15 barangays comprising the entire municipality. A purok is a small geographical unit in a village inhabited by not less than 20 households. A purok is named after a prominent landmark, event in history, tree or plant. Created the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (LDRRMO) and the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (LDRRMC). These are the lead agencies responsible for the implementation of climate change adaptation measures and the disaster risk reduction plans and programs of the municipality. Launched campaigns to create public awareness of DRRM programs and activities from the purok level to the municipal level involving purok coordinators, community rescue groups, barangay or village officials and different leaders of various people’s organizations. Conducted Disaster Risk Reduction -related activities in communities and in schools through the LDRRMO in coordination with religious sectors, Department of Education (DepEd), Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Councils), Camotes Islands Emergency Response Team (CiERT) and Plan International. Priority is given to youth organizing and education in order to involve them in creating and implementing DRR plans and programs that address the impact of climate change in their villages. Organized the business sector in San Francisco to institute programs that promote DRR in their business establishments and workplaces. Conducted and led DRR activities in coordination with local government units in Region VII (Central Visayas) for the formulation of a regional DRRM plan. Participated in National and International coordination meetings such as the Small Group Discussion/Consultation for the National Climate Change Action Plan on February 09, 2011 at Mabini Social Hall, Mabini Hall, Malacanang Compound, Manila and the Coordination Meeting with the Leagues for Global Campaign on Making Cities Resilient held on 10 February 2011 at NDMC Conference Room, Quezon City attended by San Francisco Vice Mayor Alfredo Arquillano. Outcomes: • Increased level of awareness on impacts of and community response to disasters among different groups in the municipality. • Organized rescue volunteers in eleven (11) out of fifteen (15) villages to respond to emergencies. • Fifteen Sangguniang Kabataan councils formulated a one-year DRR plan and corresponding set of activities last February 20, 2011. The said plan is an outcome of the education campaigns to motivate youth leaders to be more involved in DRR. • Integrated DRR programs and activities in schools. • Formulated and approved a Municipal Five- Year Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Plan is (see attached Attachment 2 -file municipal DRRMP) • Mainstreamed DRRM in the different government offices and agencies in the municipality through the LDRRMP. Essential # 2: Assign a budget and provide incentives for homeowners, low-income families, private sector to invest in risk reduction. • Allocated the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund in accordance with the Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act. Seventy percent (70%) of the budget is allotted o mitigation and community preparedness while the remaining thirty percent (30%) goes to the Quick Response Fund. (see Attachment 3- Budget Plan) • Provided financial assistance to vulnerable families through the purok system’s Capital Build Up (CBU) program. The CBU builds on communal cooperation and indigenous self-help mechanisms of the community by putting up an amount agreed on by residents as initial capital for emergency purposes. The Municipal Mayor initially allocated Php 300,000.00 (USD 6,000) for this program. The municipality also gave out cash awards to the purok that created the most effective DRR program in each village. • The Department of Agriculture released almost Php 1 Million (USD 20,000) as livelihood assistance to the farmer and fisherfolk associations. • Sourced out additional funds from the Provincial Government for financial assistance to support DRR activities in San Francisco. • Tapped the resources of the business sector to provide assistance for emergency needs of disaster-affected families. • Provided funds for the protection of marine and upland resources, implementation of sustainable solid waste management, construction and maintenance of DRR-related infrastructure, and employment of additional personnel for DRR implementation. Outcomes: • Enabled the effective operation of the LDRRM office through fund allocation and employment of additional personnel. • Increased fluid assets of the puroks by more than Php 120,000 (USD 2,400). This savings scheme serves as a post-disaster assistance fund for the community. • Established small enterprises in villages which enabled residents to acquire livelihood support materials. • Resulted in implementation of resource conservation and protection programs such as mangrove reforestation, watershed rehabilitation and marine protected area monitoring. Moreover, it also resulted in community-based solid waste management implementation. Essentials # 3: Update data on hazards and vulnerabilities, prepare and share risk assessments. • Conducted hazard assessment in all villages in partnership with Plan International, the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local DRR practitioners. • Shared DRR information and hazard assessments with heads of schools in the municipality. • Commissioned an expert from the Netherlands to conduct Water Source and System Assessment. • Disseminated DRR information and risk assessments through the purok system. With the limited access to information and communication technologies such as the internet, cellphones and radios, the purok coordinators are the couriers of information to the residents. • Initiated information sharing on risk and hazard assessments among different government offices at the regional and provincial levels. • Created community-based hazard maps installed in strategic and visible areas. Outcomes: • Produced comprehensive and municipal-wide risk assessments shared with different offices, agencies and communities. • Came up with a report on the water source and system assessment in San Francisco. • Incorporated DRR data and risk assessment in the purok DRR plan and activities. • Produced hazard maps in eleven coastal barangays. These were created by the residents themselves, integrating local knowledge on geohazards in the purok information system. • Identified communities vulnerable to natural hazards such as floods, landslides, droughts and typhoons. • Enabled school administrators to formulate plans on how to make their school safer and disaster-resilient. Essential #4 Invest in & maintain critical infrastructure • Built and maintained DRR buildings and infrastructure such as gymnasium, wet market, seawall, flood control dam, and drainage/line ditch canal. • Installed solar panels to provide energy to communities without access to the power grid. • Opened new access roads, including farm-to-market roads, with improved drainage systems. • Built a concrete bridge which connects Poro and Pajican Islands in San Francisco replacing the old wooden bridge. • Paved roads with warning signs to ensure safety of motorists. • Conducted annual inspection and assessments of all public facilities through the Municipal Engineering Department. Outcomes: • Increased confidence in the reliability of