Community Consultation

Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
Community consultations in the Eastern Samar Province
Twelve (12) of the twenty-three (23) towns of the Eastern Samar province were
considered severely affected by strong winds and storm surges brought by Haiyan
(Yolanda); these include Guiuan, Balangkayan, Hernani, Mercedes, Salcedo, Lawaan,
Balanginga, Quinapondan, Giporlos, General MacArthur, Maydolong and Llorente.
“Typhoon Haiyan is the most expensive
lesson we’ve learned. We knew we are
living in a highly vulnerable area but
still we allow ourselves to be caught
off guard. It’s expensive because it took
hundreds of casualties and many
properties were destroyed before we
realized the need to be prepared for
any emergencies,” Woman, 67 years
old, Barangay Batang.
But the impact of Haiyan on all affected
barangays from different municipalities
varies.
As part of the After Action Review (six
months after Haiyan),
community
consultation was conducted in six
barangays. These include Batang and
Canciledes (municipality of Hernani), San
Miguel and Poblacion1 (municipality of
Balangiga) and Campoyong and Cogon
(municipality of Guiuan).
The community consultation was conducted to elicit views from those directly affected,
marginalized, vulnerable, less visible and vocal members of the community. These
include women (pregnant and lactating), children, elderly, disabled/sickly, identified
indigenous people/ethnic groups (if available) and those living in geographically
isolated and depressed areas (GIDAs). All participants in the community consultation
represented different ages and various occupational backgrounds.
Tasked to conduct the community consultation was the Communications with
Communities (CwC) Working Group (WG) in Eastern Samar. OCHA was the lead in
collaborating with other UN agencies and INGOs that took part in the focus group
discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KII). These include UNHCR, IOM, Plan
International, Internews and Oxfam. Government agency counterparts that joined the
team were DILG, DSWD, and the PDRRMO.
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
Two sets of FGDs (same number and representation) were conducted to widen the
avenue for the affected communities to share their views six months after Haiyan. KIIs
were separately carried out for the Barangay Councils and the Barangay Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC).
Community consultations were conducted in Waray Waray, Filipino and English by
Eastern Samar team. The process was simple and easy to follow, which helped motivate
the affected communities to participate and share their views and experiences. There
were no big challenges in explaining the agenda for the consultation, translations and
lastly in capturing all the views and feedbacks of the affected communities.
The Consultation Process was focused on three components

Coordination (Preparedness and Early Warning)

Response and Service Delivery

Challenges and Recommendations
Highlights on Coordination (Preparedness and Early Warning)
As revealed in the series of FGDs and KIIs, the municipality of Balangia suffered mostly
from wind gusts of 330 kph while municipalities of Guiuan and Hernani both suffered
from strong wind and storm surges.
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
The results of the community consultation indicated that while all six barangays were
aware of the Republic Act 10121 (Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Law), the level of preparedness and response varied accordingly from one barangay to
another.
Moreover, while the devastating impact of Haiyan was recognized, each of the affected
barangays has different levels of preparedness and response capacities. The level of
identified initiatives and resources that were utilized days before and weeks after
Haiyan also varied in each barangay.
Despite lacking concrete preparedness plans, most of the Barangay councils in Guiuan,
Hernani and Balangiga initiated series of door to door awareness campaign.
However,
one
of
the
recurring reactions from the
communities was the limited
understanding of what storm
surge is and its impact. The
link of Early Warning System
(EWS) to Communication
Protocol (CP) and Evacuation
Procedure (EP) was not clear
as well to some Barangay
councils and the affected
communities.
While the issuance of weather advisories and activation of the EWS somehow worked, it
was when people were evacuated (with others refusing to evacuate) that a big problem
occurred.
Evacuation centers (ECs) were identified but not all can sustain the impact of the supertyphoon. Only few of the ECs remain functional and its status for future emergencies is
uncertain as well. All six barangays have no
contingency plans despite being highly vulnerable
to various natural hazards such as typhoon,
“The magnitude of Haiyan will
tsunami, storm surge, landslide, forest fire, and
be the new normal. We will
floods.
expect that five or ten years
from now. But the big question
Affected communities monitored updates of the
is: are we prepared for that?”
typhoon through radio, TV, social media (Twitter
Pregnant woman, 21 years
and Facebook) and of course SMS from loved
old, Barangay San Miguel.
ones/relatives outside the region.
In some barangays, the BDRRMC was not strictly
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
activated but officials were aware of the utilization of calamity fund or the Local
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (LDRRM) fund.
Highlights on Response and Delivery
The Barangay Local Government Units (BLGUs) were consulted by most INGOs, LNGOs
and other organizations about community needs days and weeks after Haiyan.
However, the consultations and assessments done with the affected communities by the
INGOs were limited.
In most affected
barangays, one of
the identified gaps
and challenges
during the
response was that
there was no
prepositioning of
stockpile and other
resources
(emergency kits,
etc.). Some
barangays through
municipal local
government units (MLGUs) were able to provide foods and medicines in the evacuation
centers three days after the typhoon.
It took five to seven days before international aids/services arrived. Affected
communities brought some food and other supplies (clothes) during evacuation but
they were only good for one day.
Not all services were coordinated to the
Barangay councils. It received so many
complaints from affected communities. While
many UN agencies and INGOs were visible days
and weeks after the typhoon, those interviewed
recognized only a number of them. These
include UNHCR, IOM, ICRC, Caritas, ZOA, UNFPA,
UNDP, Oxfam and Plan International. Few
humanitarian agencies or organizations were
able to explain and provide information on what
they are doing and what form of assistance they
“We’re thankful and grateful to
all the aids given to us. We
can’t
stop
thanking
all
organizations and agencies
that helped us and supported us
during the darkest hours of our
lives”, Boy, 15 years old,
Barangay Canciledes.
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
are giving.
“To be honest, all these
consultations annoyed me. My
mother, our neighbors and my
friends keep on saying the same
problems and concerns. Over the
last several months, we were not
given any responses from any
concerned agencies about what
we said. Is that normal?”
Girl, 11 years old, Barangay
Campoyong.
It took two weeks before further assessments on
the needs of the affected communities were
conducted. In terms of access to information and
communication needs, affected communities
complained about over reliance to the Barangay
Councils. No feedback platform was established
and referral pathway services were not clear to the
affected communities.
Delays in accessing relief assistance at the
municipal level (affected communities cannot
directly access relief as they it is distributed
through BLGUs) was also a recurring feedback
among interviewed.
But overall, humanitarian aids and
other immediate services were
received by affected communities
over the last six months. The
evolving needs six months after
that pose new challenge to the
ongoing humanitarian response.
Highlights on Challenges and Recommendations
BLGU should develop emergency stock prepositioning strategy as part of utilizing the LDRRM
Fund. There is a need as well to enhance
preparedness plan that will focus on Early Warning
System, Communication Protocol and Evacuation
Procedure.
Most barangay councils recognized the urgency to
come up with a contingency plan that is designed to
cope with the kind of magnitude or impact brought by
Haiyan. Coordination mechanism needs to be
established from the Municipal down to the barangay
“This disaster simply reminds us
that we cannot rely much on the
government and international
donors in terms of preparing us
for another type of disaster. We
need to prepare ourselves, our
family and our community
anytime. We are the first line of
defense here. We need to plan
for our own”, Man, 46 years
old, Barangay Cogon.
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
level. Mainstreamed if not institutionalized Cluster approach is also needed. While RA
10121 provides detailed information on the mandates of all DRRMCs and DRRMOs
across the country, it does not include the coordinated cluster system down to the subnational level (provincial to municipal to Barangay/local level).
Information, Communication and Accountability platform should also be established
from the Municipal down to the barangay level (preferred communication channel
preferences and feedback platform for affected communities).
Six months after Haiyan the evolving needs of the affected communities are: livelihood
assistance, capacity building on information management and disaster
preparedness, shelter assistance, safe evacuation centers and relocation sites.
“It was hard seeing my mother and my brother preparing all our stuff to evacuate
and doing everything to ensure my safety above all else. I can’t do anything rather
than to pray and follow what they want me to do. Even now in our temporary
shelter, it’s hard for me to go to the nearest toilet without anyone’s assistance.
Man with disability, 32 years old, Barangay Poblacion 1.
Community Consultation
Communicating with Communities at the heart of After Action Review
Report prepared by: Gil Francis Arevalo, National CwC Officer, OCHA
Eastern Samar Community Consultation Team
1.) OCHA:
Rowena Dacsig, May Munoz, Shenalyn Daiz, Gil Francis Arevalo
2.) UNHCR:
Eduardson Flores, Jalamie Pangalian
3.) IOM:
June Paulette Eclipse, Gina Sabejon, Mariel Sabandal, Regine Badocdoc
4.) Plan International:
Michelle Alvarez, Nestor Lentejas Jr.
5.) Oxfam:
Randy Rimpongan
6.) Internews:
Rica Abueva, Alfred Opana
7.) DILG:
Nina Balbabuena
8.) DSWD:
Gil Rebamontan, Ana Marte, Jinnah Mae Lobrio, Raquel Baleo
9.) PDRRMO:
Levi Nicart