Manila Area Re-Affirms Creation Care in Disaster Risk Reduction

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In 2018, the United Methodist Manila Episcopal Area of the Philippines Central Conference in the Philippines ushered on its second year of the Quadrennium with six (6) Focus Areas namely; 1. Vital Congregation, 2. Principled Leadership, 3. Ministry with the Poor, 4. Global Health, 5. Care for Creation, and 6. Human Rights.

This was the time when the Disaster Management Office (DMO) was organized with support from United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and developed the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) mantra “Re-affirming our Stewardship Calling, Consolidating our Best Practices  and Strengthening  the Structures toward Disaster Risk Reduction” anchored on Creation Care. It is an approach which believed that there is no total Disaster Risk Reduction unless there is an intentional care for creation; and that DRR is a wholistic strategy which put equal importance on preparedness, prevention and mitigation alongside emergency response, recovery and rehabilitation.

DRR became a cross-cutting strategy in 5 of the 6 Focus Areas of the previous Quadrennium. And with this framework, programs and activities on social protection for church workers, livelihood partnership with the poor, awareness and preventive education on health issues, environmental protection and regeneration became integrated DRR practices amongst the MEA’s conferences, districts and local churches where in the past treated as stand-alone activities. The integrated approach on DRR anchored on creation care did not come as a new idea but a consolidation of the best practices of the local churches, districts, conferences and organizations directed to the framework. 

Community-based approach on DRR, Creation Care and Climate Action

With the organization of Disaster Risk Reduction Teams from the local churches, districts and conferences came the orientational and capacity building training on creation care, climate change, disaster risk reduction and management and community-based contingency planning; the latter becoming the focus of what is now the strategy of community engagement with identified and selected partner high risk communities.

Community-based Contingency Planning (CbCP) is a management process that analyzes specific potential events or emerging situations that might threaten society or the environment and establishes arrangements in advance to enable timely, effective and appropriate responses to such events and situations using participatory method.[i]

An essential activity prior to CbCP is the conduct of community assessment on Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity using Community Risk Assessment (CRA) tools by representatives of the vulnerable sectors, formal and informal leaders, faith-based organizations and facilitated by the MEA Disaster Management Office with the trained DRR team members from the district and conference. The two interlocking workshop sessions of Community Risk Assessment and Community-based Contingency Planning resulted to an action plan to address the impacts of the hazard to people, properties, and environment; and/or to prevent the occurrence of the emerging threats through the arrangement of timely, effective, appropriate, and well-coordinated responses as well as the efficient management of resources.[ii]

These outputs were translated into an Early Warning System, Evacuation Plan, Communication Protocol and an inventory of existing and needed early warning and life saving equipment critical to prevent and mitigate the impacts of the identified hazards in the community. Further in-depth analysis of the root causes of the effects of hazards, vulnerabilities and capacities of the community led to the identification and prioritization of nature-based mitigation project in each partner community where the CbCP were conducted. Thus, the pioneering Nature-based Mitigation Project Hybrid Solar Photo Voltaic System of Barangay Meysulao, Bulacan, the first in Manila Episcopal Area and in the entire province of Bulacan was developed and implemented. The project strengthened the DRR capacity of the community and a climate mitigation action in the area affected by the onset of sea level rise even during the dry season when high tide occurs.

The Solar PV System of Meysulao, Calumpit, Bulacan

The high risk community of Meysulao, Calumpit, Bulacan is located in the Pampanga Delta, a province north of Quezon City, the capital of the Philippines. With its location, it is flood-prone because it is a catch basin during monsoon and rainy season of water coming from nearby provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija aggravated by high tide and slow onset sea level rise due to climate change.

The project with combined capacity of 16 kiloWatt (kW) is a multi-stakeholder undertaking amongst the community organizations represented by the vulnerable sectors and officialdom of barangay Meysulao, North Bulacan District and Bulacan Philippines Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Center for Renewable and Sustainable Technology (CREST) which provided the training and technology and the UMCOR supported Manila Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office. It was able to solarize the community’s key facilities such as the barangay hall and the DRR command center, the Meysulao evacuation center and two United Methodist churches that also act as temporary shelters, to receive uninterrupted power during calamities. The project also put up 21 solar streetlights along the riverside to guide the families into safety during calamities.

Twenty-five (25) community members, mostly youth, young leaders and women were trained as solar scholars by CREST and will serve  as maintenance team to the solar PV system. The solar PV projects will reduce the community’s annual electricity consumption by 20,1160 kWh. This translates to an annual greenhouse gas emission offset of more than 14.3 metric tons of carbon equivalent. [i]

At the conclusion of Manila Episcopal Area’s Quadrennium Strategic Plan (2016 – 2020), an evaluation was conducted and the ensuing strategic planning for the new quadrennium 2021 – 2024. The result on the program on Care for Creation got a combined rating of 3 from the rating scale 1 – 5 translated as  observable with Functional DRRM Team and Sustainable Project on environment have score of 3 and Advocacy on Renewable Energy 1.9. These were attained although it was introduced halfway of the quadrennium. Community partnership and engagement and sustainable project scored 2.8 and 2.5 respectively with the latter categorized as response-based projects when the framework on DRR anchored on creation care and community engagement were purposively instituted and practiced in the last 2 years of the previous quadrennium.

Building on the gains of the creation care, and introduction of community engagement and partnership in the previous quadrennium, these projects were adopted and explicitly stated in the new quadrennium’s strategic goals and direction. Specific programs and projects on renewable energy system based on climate justice, sustainable agriculture projects such as heirloom seed community garden, and nature-based mitigation solutions among others are specifically identified and to be expanded. Community engagement dubbed as Bayanihan is now adopted as one of the core values and strategies for the new quadrennium.

[i] CREST Quarterly Newsletter 2021 January – March.  Issue 2

[i] Contingency Planning Guidebook 2016 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council – Philippines

[ii] Contingency Planning Guidebook 2016 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council – Philippines

Romuel “Dojoe” S. Flores serves as Lay Leader of the Bulacan Philippines Annual Conference, Manila Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church. This article is republished with permission from the UM Creation Justice Movement website.