(Lifted from the book “Safe, Resilient Communities: The ACCORD Model”, published by Accord Inc., 2011)

In 2007, eight women – mostly mothers – assembled in the ACCORD office that fateful June morning for the first-ever training for community facilitators in Saint Bernard. It was unforgettable. Of the 25 individuals invited, only eight showed up. 

They all looked a bit unsure and quiet after realizing there were only eight of them. Most of those who backed-out had issues regarding honorarium which they claimed was a customary practice of other NGOs but which was not the case for ACCORD. When the project staff decided to push through with the training, despite the majority backing out, the remaining eight stayed throughout the 5-day training. They were all women – a grandmother, two teachers, a church worker, a barangay nutrition volunteer, a daycare worker, a community member, and a college student. Seven were mothers who stuck it out till the last day. Four years later, of the eight, six stayed on and are still active in varying levels. The other two are still around but not as active. Of the six, two stood out to become more than what was expected of them.

Anna was one of them, 46 years old, mother of five and a daycare worker for 20 years. She was one of the more ebullient trainees-CFs. She would giggle every time she mispronounced some words and was so unsure of herself during her first practice-teaching experience. 

Today, Anna can discuss almost all of the sessions of the different training modules of ACCORD. She has gained confidence by using good examples from the community’s experience to clearly explain DRR concepts. She has also helped translate to Bisaya the session plans. Now, her name is synonymous to “DRR expert” in her barangay. 

She’s not all that, she has also gone places. Anna is part of the training team in Saint Bernard who would go out of their way to conduct DRR trainings in the island of Limasawa. Through her and other CFs, Saint Bernard has replicated the ACCORD project within its municipality. The same is true with other municipalities which requested assistance for DRR. 

In June this year, she attended a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-UNICEF regional training in Bacolod. The training focused on RA 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, climate change adaptation, supervising and managing children affected by disasters. In that conference, she was regarded as a DRR community advocate and a resource person on community-based DRR. Among other daycare workers in the whole province of Southern Leyte and in her community, she was the one asked to help the DSWD in re-echoing the conference on DRR. 

She strongly believes that the ACCORD project needs to expand other barangays and other municipalities because people need help to reduce their vulnerabilities against frequent hazards. She knows of neighbouring municipalities who know nothing of DRR but also want to learn. When she was informed that the project can no longer be extended, she took the challenge of taking the task of replicating and sharing the ACCORD experience. 

She said she has learned so much from her involvement with the project, and the experience has changed her as a person. Because she has gained so much knowledge and experience from the project, she feels it is also her obligation to share this through trainings which she believes can change lives for the better.

Ronnie, mother of two and former barangay nutrition volunteer, was also one of those who stayed. Though known as the silent one, she exuded the strength of a woman one can rely on. She demonstrated how much she is willing to contribute for a cause. She was one of four barangay nutrition volunteers, with all four sharing the P450/month honorarium for the position of nutrition specialist. But she was replaced as a nutrition volunteer in December 2010 by their Barangay Captain allegedly due to political differences. 

During her first practice-teaching, she stood in front like a block of ice-cold and stiff. She could not stop crying during the first training, as she remembered the deadly Guinsaugon landslide which she fears might happen again anytime. 

From then on, Ronnie has learned so much by helping conduct training in different barangays. She said that knowing about the situation has helped her overcome her fears, realizing that the community can do something to reduce its vulnerabilities. 

Today she thinks that being a CF has made her somewhat of a community organizer. She has taken it upon herself to continuously be of service to her kababaryos by explaining and helping them understand what she has learned about DRR. She feels the need for them to understand DRR and so has helped in translating the training modules to Bisaya. 

Ronnie looks at herself as a community educator. She willingly and tirelessly shares everything that she has learned from the project through the conduct of training courses in their municipality, going as far as the municipality of Limasawa. 

Ronnie and Anna, and many more of their kind in the different project areas, are among those who have selflessly devoted time and effort to be part of the journey to change the lives of other equally poor people in vulnerable communities. Ronnie is happy that she can serve her community through DRR; earlier, she thought she had to be a nutrition volunteer to be able to serve. She sums up the idea of what they as CFs have become by saying they have served as ‘tulay’ or bridges of the project to their communities. Now it’s time to help build more bridges so that other communities like Limasawa can become more resilient. 

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

(Lifted from the book “Safe, Resilient Communities: The ACCORD Model”, published by ACCORD Inc., 2011) 

The sweetest reward is a resilient community. This is how Mayor Evelyn Yu summarized her experience working with CARE and partners. She is the municipal mayor of Calabanga in Camarines Sur, a municipality that is frequently battered by strong typhoons. 

Mayor Yu was first elected for the said position in 1998. Barely a few months into office, Typhoon ‘Loleng’ (Babs), categorised by PAGASA as one of the strongest tropical cyclones, hit the Philippines on October 21-26, 1998. It was also considered as one of the top five typhoons which caused the heaviest damage in Southern and Central Luzon.

Before this, like any other local government unit, the municipality of Calabanga did not give much attention to disaster preparedness and mitigation. Their knowledge and experience were limited to the conduct of emergency response during a typhoon’s aftermath. Disaster reduction, mitigation and preparedness were still out of the picture.

When Mayor Yu was re-elected in 2004, four tropical cyclones (Unding, Violeta, Winnie and Yoyong) hit the Luzon area in a span of 18 days from November 16 to December 2. Typhoon Unding gravely devastated the Bicol region, including Calabanga and its poorest barangays along the coastal areas.

This devastating event motivated Mayor Yu to prioritize disaster risk reduction, and started the partnership between CARE and the LGU of Calabanga. The partnership started through a CARE relief project, followed by DRR that built on the initial emergency response.

Mayor Yu is one LGU executive who immediately supported the follow-up DRR projects of CARE. She exhibited genuine interest for disaster preparedness as she sat all throughout the training sessions conducted for municipal officials and staff. She was very different from other officials who were only present during the opening activities. 

She directly headed the development of the municipality’s contingency plan and actively participated in drills. She also joined the community as they planted mangrove seedlings along the banks of San Miguel Bay. She generously provided various kinds of support for the project, including the allocation of funding for all three phases of ACCORD. 

On her third and last term as Mayor of Calabanga, she is confident that their community already has the capacity to handle emergency situations and carry-out measures to reduce disaster impacts. Towards the last stretch of the ACCORD projects, Mayor Yu fully supported the move to mainstreaming DRR and CCA in the local development planning processes in order to sustain what has been achieved in the last seven years. 

Led by Mayor Yu, Calabanga earned the distinction of being the first municipality in Camarines Sur to have developed a municipal contingency plan that is linked to community contingency plans. 

The municipality is expanding and sustaining its successful mangrove reforestation activities in the coastal communities of Cagsao, Sibobo, Sabang, and Punta Tarawal, and has started reforestation of upland areas, realizing the risk reduction and ecosystem services these reforestation activities provide. The mangrove reforestation, especially in Cagsao has earned so much recognition that it has become a learning and tourism destination. It has also opened new partnerships for similar undertakings and has been considered a favourite spot for outreach activities of various colleges and universities in Bicol. The project has also influenced other municipalities surrounding San Miguel Bay to replicate the said mangrove reforestation project.

Recognizing the link between disasters, climate change and environmental degradation, the municipal government has come up with resolutions supporting BDRRMC of Bgy. Sibobo’s opposition to quarrying in the barangay, and opposing the planned magnetite mining in San Miguel Bay. The municipality has also led the establishment of a fish sanctuary in San Miguel Bay. 

The municipal government has consistently supported the capacity building of community facilitators as a means for sustaining DRR in the municipality. Now, community facilitators include the staff of their Sangguniang Bayan members, the municipal administrator, fire marshalls, health officers and staff, among others. They have replicated DRR capacity building of communities and schools not covered by the ACCORD projects. 

Aware of the need to sustain DRR, Mayor Yu and other LGU officials are allocating funds for the replication of the ACCORD experience until all 48 barangays of Calabanga has been covered. Earlier, the municipal government has been incorporating DRR activities in the Executive Legislative Agenda and allocating funds for these activities. In 2011, the municipality embarked on mainstreaming DRR in the Rationalized Planning System. 

As a partner in the Food Facility Project, the municipality also gained experience in incorporating DRR in livelihoods, by applying DRR mainstreaming in project cycle management. The municipality, through its DILG officer, has also included DRR and solid waste management topics in regular orientation programs conducted for newly-elected barangay officials. No one can doubt Calabanga’s achievements in terms of improving the DRR capacities of the communities. In fact, Mayor Yu has been invited in numerous national and international gatherings to share their DRR practice in Calabanga. Other municipalities also expressed their interest in learning from Calabanga’s experience by inviting members of municipal government to discuss DRR programs.

As a result of DRR mainstreaming, the municipality of Calabanga has been awarded the Gawad Kalasag, a recognition given to LGUs who exhibited good practices in DRR. 

But according to Mayor Yu, while the awards make them doubly proud, they are still mere decorations. What they have learned cannot be bought by money. The key to sustained risk reduction activities is the raised awareness of the ordinary people – about preparedness and taking care of the environment. As such they have already been given the tools to help reduce the adverse effects of typhoons, floods, and storm surge that hit the municipality’s coastal barangays and, in more recent years, even the Poblacion barangays. 

“The best accomplishment is to be able to share to others what we have learned; to become instrumental in building more resilient communities in the years to come,” stressed Mayor Yu. That, for her is what mainstreaming is all about: to be able to have DRR into the consciousness of local executives and staff who take it upon themselves to govern for their people.

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

Originally Written: June 18, 2013

UNISDR has honoured Saint Bernard municipality, Southern Leyte, with a citation of Merit during the 2013 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction ceremonies held last 22 May 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. The municipality was awarded for its dedication to build its disaster risk reduction capacities. A traumatic landslide completely buried a whole village and claimed more than a thousand lives in 2006.

In presenting the citation, the Jury of the Sasakawa Award noted in Saint Bernard municipality that “despite modest means, a great dedication to capacity building, protection and preparedness is observed. This is an example of how response to an external input could generate successful consequences. Saint Bernard is a fourth-class municipality. Under the theme “Acting As One”, the biennial UN Sasakawa Award for DRR recognizes excellence in reducing disaster risk for a safer, more sustainable world. 

Another Merit award was given to the Karlstad municipality and the Swedish Civil Contigencies Agency, while a Letter of Distinction was handed to Tehran Disaster Management and Mitigation Organization (TDMMO). The top Sasakawa Award was shared between Belo Horizonte City, Brazil, and the National Alliance for Risk Reduction and Response Initiative (NARRI) from Bangladesh.  

The five awardees were selected from 10 cities and municipalities, four individuals and 14 institutions and projects which were nominated for the 2013 Awards. Aside from Saint Bernard, the other nominees from the Philippines are Butuan City, Philippine Senate Committee on Climate Change, and SM Supermalls. Saint Bernard was nominated to the Sasakawa Awards by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD).  

St. Bernard Municipality’s local chief executive, Rico Rentuza, attributes the success of DRR initiatives in the municipality to its partnership with various organisations, and emphasized that it takes a continuing collective undertaking for high-risk communities like St. Bernard to build their capacities to be more resilient and safe.   

“The increased level of preparedness and risk reduction can be due to our long-standing partnerships with CARE Nederland and its local partner, ACCORD, who helped us design and implement a longterm community-based DRR program, and the support of ECHO, the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Agency. The disaster preparedness program of ECHO, DIPECHO, supported us for 3 cycles until we were able to integrate DRR in our long-term planning process,” Rentuza said.

He also added that the municipality’s DRR program is complemented by specific components like GIZ’s early warning system, and resettlement and relocation support by PRC, JICA, Habitat, and Gawad Kalinga. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau provided scientific inputs on risk assessment. The Department of Interior and Local Government has contributed to the municipality’s efforts to mainstream DRR in local development planning, and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has motivated them to persevere in improving the quality of their work. Since 2008, the municipality has been recognized through the Gawad Kalasag Award, for its excellence in DRR.  

Rentuza concluded that, “The people and the local government of Saint Bernard are most honoured to receive this very important award. Receiving this most prestigious award is the next best thing, the “icing on the cake,” to knowing that with the help of others, we have transformed ourselves into a more resilient and safer community.”  

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

The ACCORD Model for disaster risk reduction was borne out of the experience of implementing the community-based disaster risk reduction called ACCORD (or Strengthening Assets and Capacities of Communities and Local Government Units for Resilience to Disasters) and two follow-up projects: ACCORD-2 and ACCORD-3. Subsequently, ACCORD-3 was incorporated into ASCEND (or Advancing Safer Communities and Environments against Disasters) which is a consortium project between CARE Nederland and Christian Aid. The ACCORD model, however, also the good practices and lessons from the humanitarian response, and other projects of CARE Nederlands and partners in the Philippines. The ACCORD model also draws inspiration from the experiences in DRR of other practitioners in the Philippines and abroad.

The ACCORD Model is constantly evolving, as the organizations behind the model, ACCORD Incorporated, CNDR, CorDis RDS, AADC, and CARE Nederland, strive for quality DRR programming. The ACCORd model makes use of community-based DRR and rights-based approach as the complementary frameworks for disaster risk reduction. Climate change adaptation is being combined with DRR. Sustainable natural resource management is also strongly promoted as a complementary approach, and more recently, the more comprehensive ecosystem management and restoration.

The ACCORd model is being documented and shared on the hopes that, based on specific contexts, it can provide useful knowledge about DRR practices of communities, people’s organizations, local authorities, schools, and other practitioners.

View, read, and download the full document here. 

This book has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO) under the 7th DIPECHO Action Plan for Southeast Asia. The views expressed herein should not be taken, in any way, to reflect the official opinion of the European Commission.

ECHO us one of the world’s largest providers of financing for humanitarian aid operations. Through its Disaster Preparedness Programme (DIPECHO), it assists vulnerable people living in the main disaster-prone regions of the world in reducing the impact of natural disasters on their lives and livelihoods.

This document is a compilation of various inputs to the Sunset Review of Republic Act 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act of 2010.

The Partners for Resilience (PfR) Alliance has been working since 2011 to reduce the impact of natural hazards on vulnerable people in nine countries globally by the Netherlands Red Cross, CARE Nederland, Cordaid, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and Wetlands International, and our many local partners.

In the Philippines, PfR is being implemented by the Philippine Red Cross, Assistance Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD), Afri-Aqua DEvelopment Coalition (AADC), Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CorDisRDS), and Corporate Network for Disaster Response (CNDR) in at least 44 barangays across 8 municipalities and 2 cities; in 4 provinces; in 3 regions. Technical support is also being provided by the IIRR, Wetlands International, and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.

The PfR approach, methodology, and tools are being applied by implementing partners in other programming initiatives including relief and recovery projects in Yolanda-affected areas and disaster risk reduction initiatives in other high-risk areas in the country.

We are one with the national government and with all our partner communities and LGUs in advancing the national and local DRRM strategy. We are prepared to assist the governing agencies in developing the most appropriate strategy for the country. Together with all those who work for national and community-level resilience, including the community members themselves, we aim that this review will establish the long-term strategy for an integrated DRR in the Philippines.

Successes of RA 10121

It helped strengthen the country’s DRRM system and provide a national DRRM framework and institutionalize the national DRRM plan

It has guided the country’s paradigm shift from being reactive towards proactive approaches and strategies in addressing disaster and climate risks

It had spurred local government units to better prepare for emergencies and steered them towards a course that equitably gives importance to response, rehabilitation and recovery, preparedness, and mitigation and prevention.

Read more about key propositions, specific recommendations, and suggested texts in the complete document.

View and download the full document here.

Malabon City is in Metro Manila, the National Capital Region of the Philippines. It is part of a sub-region called CAMANAVA (composed of the cities of CAloocan, MAlabon, NAvotas and VAlenzuela) located in the northern part of Metro Manila Bay and situated in the estuary of several river deltas. Malabon is one of the most densely populated cities in the country and its low-lying, flat terrain makes it prone to frequent flooding, especially during high tides, heavy rains and when river and dams overflow. The four
cities in CAMANAVA are commonly affected by interconnected rivers, one of which is the Tullahan River.

The river system used to be navigable and fishing was the major livelihood activity in the area. The river used to be wider, deeper, had better quality water, and was a regular source of different species of fish, which were an important food source for local residents. Also, trees and crops like palay (rice) and vegetables used to be grown along the riverbanks. However, these agricultural plots have been replaced by industrial yards, which also became home to thousands of informal settlers who built makeshift
dwellings without legal claim to the land.

In recent years, floods have worsened, occurring more frequently and reaching levels of several feet deep. Most affected are families in the communities that are along or near the riverbanks. The river has become narrower and shallower over the years, and its capacity to hold water has decreased. With more frequent, intense rains, the riverbanks flood regularly, and flooding reaches farther into low-lying and densely populated areas of the city.

View and download the full Inside Story from the Climate Knowledge & Development Network here. 

This document contains a compilation of key messages about Integrated Risk Management (IRM). It also includes a discussion of the resilience strengthening roles of local government units (LGUs), civil society, and community participation in IRM.

Among the cases featured are integrated solutions for Lake Manit, IRM for complex cities, nature-based solutions to coastal zone protection in the City of Tacloban and the Municipality of Palo, and the resilience of communities in Barangay Bayabas in Dagami, Leyte after the damage brought about by Typhoon Haiyan.

Read more about these stories by clicking on the link to the full document below.

View and Download Key Messages and Case Studies on Integrated Risk Management here.