The Philippines, being an archipelago and belonging to the Pacific Ring of Fire, is subjected to a lot of natural hazards such as tropical storms, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. Another factor that contributes to the disasters that struck our country is the lack of discipline among Filipinos that result to man-made hazards such as food-poisoning, environmental pollution, and road accidents. One question that we must ask ourselves is how we can be ready if hazards struck the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
The seminar that the class conducted on September 30,2010 at the CMC Auditorium as project was really essential for it did help us to understand the paradigms of disasters from different perspectives since we have speakers from the geological sciences, from food science, and from communication science in application to UP Diliman campus and students herein.
The welcome remarks of the College Secretary of the College of Mass Communication, Professor Danilo A. Arao was interesting. He said that such undertaking is a significant move towards the campaign on disaster awareness and preparedness in the campus which students can apply outside the campus if they graduate since hazards do not have fixed time when they will occur.
Dr. Santiago’s message informed the audiences on what they can expect from the seminar and also introduced the speakers. I really liked it because madam’s better half Sir Ramon J. Santiago is so supportive to ma’am and also to the class. Maybe without sir Santiago’s friends self efforts, we would not have conducted such a seminar.
The first speaker is the Director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Dr. Rene Solidum. He talked about earthquake preparedness or the things that we should do before, during, and after an earthquake. I like his argument that preparing for an earthquake is not like preparing for a typhoon wherein the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) can give typhoon signals for the people to be ready for possible flood if their area is prone to flood. Preparing for earthquake is being aware all the time of the positions of things in relation to you. It was interesting how he said that my position, as the master of the ceremony in the event, was not a safe spot in case there is an earthquake, he rather went beside a strong post which is like one of the pillars of the building.
I am grateful how PHIVOLCS actively participated in the event. They even provided leaflets and brochures on the things that students can do in case of emergency. I am sure that a lot of students who attended were given such and that they are more aware now on the things that they can do in case of this calamity occur. I hope we can disseminate more of these leaflets and brochures to more students in the campus since students here are coming from different parts of the country, the information that they have acquired can then be transmitted to their areas.
Our second speaker Dr. Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay of the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences talked about the Faults of UP and the Geological Profile of the university. One fact that I learned from him is that the rumour of UP Main Library having fault beneath it is untrue. I was amazed on how the architectural landscape beneath the university is planned. It’s like it was really strategically built for instance the path that lead to the water basin towards Commonwealth Avenue from the university. That must have been built for years and in the 102 years of UP, when was those built? UP keeps on amazing me.
The third speaker was Dr. Leonora Francisco of the UP College of Home Economics and talked about the Disasters in Food which is all about food poisoning that can be classified into man-made hazards. It was interesting that Dr. Francisco had a very different framework but it was still significant because she presented a daily threat that might harm UP Diliman students, particularly on street foods such as isaw, fishballs, and others. I learned that the foods that are sold on streets should be properly covered since it is exposed to the surroundings. She did a comparative analysis on the street foods before and its current situation. She said that the foods sold on the street now are more hygienic and safer than the years before since they now have sauce dispenser unlike before that the sauce are open. I also learned that foods should be exposed in a different temperature immediately so that bacteria will not be exposed to bacteria. All this time I thought that that practice is wrong since it might lead to fast rottenning of food but I must trust her since she had studies about this.
The fourth and the final speaker was the Chairperson of the Communication Research Department of the UP College of Mass Communication, Dr. Elena E. Pernia who talked about the Disaster Rick Communication. I learned that it is difficult really how to properly communicate about disasters. And Dr. Pernia emphasized that ‘there is no good news here.’ And I think it is true, based on my experience before, during a calamity it is really hard to be vocal about it and to properly communicate your ideas especially if you are surrounded by the affected individuals. Dr. Pernia said that what matters most in such situation is to show that you care towards people especially if they have been affected.
Applying the Disaster Risk Communication in the Hostage Crisis on August 23, 2010 at the Quirino Grandstand, the police have given too much care to their fellow Filipino General Mendoza and they gave everything he demanded. I think the police should have cared more on a number of lives that was at risk at that time. Though media kept on exposing the latest happening that have caused the hostage taker to be informed on the tactics and aggregated information with what the police did to his brother. Disaster Risk Communication must be emphasised in institutions like the police and the military since they are vital in the protection of the Filipinos in case of hazards and disasters.
I initially thought it would not have been possible to conduct such project for a lot of time will be needed to organize and to invite speakers. Luckily, this assumption was wrong for all the speakers were in the seminar and students from different colleges such as the College of Science and the School of Statistics attended it. It felt sad by the fact that our online campaign was not really valued and the guests who confirmed their attendance online did not attend the event.
On the lighter side, I am happy being part of this team who conducted the first seminar on such topic here in the UP Diliman, as what Dr. Solidum said. A fellow student from DZUP told me if she can interview me and I said yes. While we waited for the call, she asked me if it was really set on this day because it was in a week wherein we commemorate the first anniversary of the Typhoon Ondoy wherein a lot have died. And I said no, but it was a point that the seminar landed on this date since the seminar is about disaster awareness and preparedness, if a lot have been informed and are aware, we might lessen the number of affected individuals and casualties in case of such incidents.
