Prepared for disasters

In 2000, when I was covering a media event in Bacolod , I met Dr. Anthony Rolando T. Golez Jr., a young doctor who was doing postgraduate training in medicine and surgery. Dr. Golez had founded the Lingkod-E.R. (Emergency Room) Negros Occidental Foundation, which was financing the expenses of poor patients in "a life and death situation" brought to the Corazon L. Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital Emergency Room. He realized that if people were taught ways to prevent, or deal with accidents, at home, and if pre-hospital care (transport of patients to hospital) were made available, there would be fewer accidents brought to the hospital.

Dr. Golez invited 200 college students from different private schools in Bacolod City and trained them in first aid and basic emergency responders courses in coordination with the DYA Recoletos Ambulance Unit. The volunteers became the emergency responders of the six ambulances operating the DYA. As a result of the program, Dr. Golez was appointed by the city mayor as the city disaster coordinating council vice-chairman for health. That was the first time he got acquainted with the Disaster Coordinating Council system.

Next time I saw Dr. Golez was on television as he supervised emergency coordinating activities in disaster areas in the country. One afternoon, as we chatted over a cup of coffee, I realized that Dr. Golez has continued to pour his energies on disaster preparedness work. He has been designated by President Arroyo as government spokesperson on disaster information and management (including all natural disasters and Avian Flu), of the National Disaster Coordinating Council on disaster information and management, and NDCC disaster communications and advocacy committee head. According to Dr. Golez, almost all government agencies are members of the NDCC, but the secretariat of NDCC is the Office of Civil Defense of which the OCD Administrator, Maj. Gen. Glenn Rabonza, is also the executive director.

The year 2006, said Dr. Golez, has scarred the Philippines with an array of disasters, ranging from super typhoons to landslides, lahar flows, mudslides, earthquakes, storm surges, flashfloods, volcanic eruptions and oil spill. Notable of these disasters were the Guinsaugon landslide in Southern Leyte, the Guimaras oil spill, and the Albay mudslide/lahar that claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed billions worth of properties, and dislocated many communities. The past year, he said, "was no different from last year or years past in terms of the number of disasters that put a mark on the country because of our geographic location in the world map which makes us prone to a lot of natural disasters." But what made the year 2006 different from the previous years was "how the NDCC prepared the country to meet these disasters."

Preparing the nation for disasters is not easy job for the NDCC, said Dr. Golez. "The NDCC has to invest on programs and activities that eventually would make all vulnerable communities disaster-resilient, but still within its reach. These programs are aimed to increase and improve its capability to respond to disasters."

Thus the NDCC's Four-Point Action Plan which is being implemented in national government agencies' disaster management systems and plans, has made people more prepared to deal with disasters.

The action plan consists of upgrading the forecasting capability of PAGASA and Phivolcs through improved equipment and staff development and linking and networking with foreign forecasting institutions in the Pacific and South China Sea, and a public information campaign on disaster preparedness, such as the radio program broadcasts of "Safe Ka Ba?," nationwide earthquake drills, tsunami and flooding drills. (The radio program should be adapted to television showing, but there's no funding for this ambitious project.)

A third component of the plan is the capacity building for local chief executives in 806 municipalities in 61 provinces, and the conduct of skills training for groups in flooding and landslide incidents.

The third component is strengthening government and private sector partnerships in relief and rehabilitation. This includes participation of companies engaged in structural engineering, health sectors (for an integrated emergency preparedness and response), environment safety and response, availability of heavy equipment for search and rescue operations, and a program on rehabilitating internally displaced persons and communities in Southern Philippines, including provision through Gawad Kalinga of houses in the communities ravaged by typhoons. So far 330 houses have been constructed in Southern Leyte, and for relief operations, P585,473,249.42 has been spent for relief goods distribution.

In a report, Dr. Golez said that in the final analysis, "an unprepared community would clutch the greatest devastation. The cost of disasters would eventually delay all economic development programs, and which the poor would bear the worst pain. To insulate our people, especially the poor who are the most vulnerable to the effects of disasters, the NDCC has started to invest in disaster preparedness and ultimately make our people disaster-resilient."

On the challenges for NDCC, Dr. Golez said that motivation of different local government chief executives on disaster management is not the same. "Most are complacent, but now they're moving towards the right direction because of prevailing disaster experiences around the country. And disaster management must be taught up to the barangays level (to every Filipino family), and here, NDCC would need the help of the LGUs."

Dr. Golez has gone to all the major disaster areas that hit the country since 2005. "Major disasters usually overwhelm local disaster coordinating councils and it is usually comforting and encouraging if local chief executives see NDCC officials together with them on the ground."

A big problem is having a bigger budget for the NDCC. "Every year the country incurs an average P10 billion worth of damages to infrastructure and livelihood. The National Calamity Fund is only P700 million a year. But for 2007, President Arroyo is pushing for additional P10 billion for the rehabilitation of areas hit by the super typhoons of 2006 in Congress."

Dr. Golez, 34, took his secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila, and obtained his BS in physical therapy at the UST Institute of Physical Therapy. He finished the medical and surgical course at the US faculty of Medicine and Surgery in 2000. In 2005, he obtained his masters in business management in health from the Ateneo Graduate school of Business, through a scholarship grant from the Leaders for Health Program of Pfizer Philippines. He co-authored the book Survival: A Guide to Family's Safety in Disasters, and co-created the Disaster Injury Trauma Management Module.

My e-mail: [email protected]