Initial findings on the experience of Cagayan and Benguet show that the local government units (LGUs) from both provinces have been working to strengthen their disaster risk reduction (DRR) actions through a number of mitigation and preparedness activities.

A research team, led by Mr. Thaddeus Lawas, made courtesy calls with the municipalities of Sta. Teresita and Ballesteros of Cagayan and Tublay, Atok, Kibungan, and Kapangan of Benguet province in February and March respectively, to document the different DRR practices of the LGUs. From the field visit to Sta. Teresita and Ballesteros, they were found to be vulnerable to typhoons, floods, soil erosions, and possible storm surge and tsunami. In the case of mountainous province Benguet, heavy rainfall induced landslides, which severely affected the local residents. This leaves the road impassable, cutting people off from market access.  

In order to lessen the impacts of disasters, the municipalities in Benguet focused on the mitigation activities, especially to address the issues of soil erosions and landslides. Both Tublay and Atok towns have planted bamboo in the landslide prone areas as well as coffee and mulberry, respectively. Experts from UP Baguio and Benguet State University were tapped to conduct a research on the effectiveness of these plantations.

On the other hand, Sta. Teresita of Cagayan has installed an early warning system– automated rain gauge, which monitors the level of rainfall and sends the readings to the central database.  It is expected to help the LGU to warn the locals and eventually to be better prepared for floods. Ballesteros has built a food storage facility that is also being used as a temporary classroom as means to meet the various needs of the LGU and the community.

Besides the help of academe, towns of Benguet have established a partnership with NGOs. For instance, Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. assisted in several capacity building trainings in Kibungan and Atok for disaster risk reduction concept orientations, contingency planning workshops, and in creating emergency operation manuals. The towns mentioned that the academe and NGO partners have been great supporters for their DRR initiatives and made the projects more feasible.

All these findings are part of the UN World Food Programme (UN WFP) funded project of the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM), UPLB – “Documentation and Evaluation of Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness and Response Projects in Four Provinces: Cagayan, Benguet, Laguna, Sorsogon,” and will be packaged in forms of an interactive CD, IEC materials, and documentary video. (Minji Na)