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The Story of Filipinos

The Story of Filipinos. Survival and Hope . The context of the title . How Poor are most Filipinos? What are the reasons for poverty? What makes the Philippines a natural disaster” hotspot”? . How poor are most Filipinos?. 2006 statistics, National Statistics Office, 2007

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The Story of Filipinos

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  1. The Story of Filipinos Survival and Hope Lecture delivered in the class of Prof. Domingo, Asian Languages & Cultures Department , UCLA on May 15, 2012

  2. The context of the title • How Poor are most Filipinos? • What are the reasons for poverty? • What makes the Philippines a natural disaster” hotspot”?

  3. How poor are most Filipinos? • 2006 statistics, National Statistics Office, 2007 • A quarter of the Filipinos –more or less 20 million of our countrymen lived on a little over one $1 a day (Php 44.00) • Nearly half of the Filipinos – about 44 % of the Filipinos survived on less than $2 a day (Php 88.00) • Your café latte costs more than the amount it takes for half of our countrymen to survive.

  4. Poorest Provinces in the Year 2010

  5. ARMM and Bicol Regions: The poorest of the Poor • All four provinces of ARMM are among the 10 poorest provinces in the country • Tawi-tawi • Maguindanao • Lanao del Sur • Sultan Kudarat • Two of the 6 provinces in Bicol Region • Masbate • Camarines Norte

  6. Living Conditions of the Poor • Experience food insecurity • Struggle to pay housing costs • Cannot afford health care • Likely to drop out at Grade 4 • Difficulty in managing their money • More likely to smoke, gamble, and drink alcohol

  7. Living Conditions of the Poor • Have no capacity to buy in bulk, cannot take advantage of sales • Supermarkets are not found in poor communities • No bank account • Live in a day to day basis • Predatory lending practices (Bombay 5-6 interest) • Do not have “nest egg” of cash or assets for emergency

  8. Is it economic inequality?

  9. Poverty and Natural Calamities: Ingredients to an increase in Poverty

  10. Philippines is a “natural disaster hotspot” • The Philippine government estimates that between 2005 and 2010, the country needs some 3.8 million new homes (Habitat for Humanity, 2009). • Disaster is one of the causes of homelessness in the country.

  11. Typhoon Vulnerability Map of the Philippines Source: PAGASA-PCARDD, 2008

  12. Introduction • Nature of Disaster • a disaster occurs when a natural phenomenon brings damage or loss to the major social, organizational and physical facilities of a community to the degree that the essential functions of the society are interrupted or destroyed resulting in individual stress and social disorganization of varying severity. Oliver-Smith, 1992:13

  13. Mount Pinatubo eruption on June 15, 1991

  14. The Lahar flow buried many Barangays

  15. Residents wade in floodwater caused by typhoon Ketsana (Ondoy) Cainta, Rizal, Sept 30, 2009

  16. Case StudyBicol Region: A Typhoon Prone Area • During rainy season almost all typhoons (average of 20 annually) passes through the Bicol region and the surrounding areas of the scenic Mount Mayon • Mount Mayon is one of the 22 active volcanoes in the country • The places around Mount Mayon have always been most vulnerable to disaster

  17. The Scenic Mount Mayon Photp courtesy Of Evasco,K Bicol University

  18. The Typhoon Reming (November 2006) : The Event that Changed their Lives

  19. How Typhoon Reming became a Disaster • Total cost of damage Php 4,817,070,173.00 • 709 persons dead • 2,190 injured • 753 missing persons • 2,895,464 population affected • 203,498 families rendered homeless • 3,130 families or 16,649 persons sought refuge to evacuation centers • Source: UNHCDR and NDCC Oct. 2007

  20. How Typhoon Reming became a Disaster • Two typhoons brought about continuous heavy rain in the towns of Guinobatan, Camalig,Daraga, and Legaspi City in Albay, Bicol • Milenyo (Xangse) • Reming (Durian) • The Mayon Volcano area was submerged with knee deep mud that made the roads not passable • Triggered a combination of mud , volcanic ash , boulders from the slopes of Mt. Mayon • Reming had a maximum sustained winds of 190 kph and gust of up to 225 kph

  21. Lost of Lives Photo courtesy Of Evasco,K Bicol University

  22. Damage Infrastructure Photo courtesy by Evasco,K

  23. Lost of livelihood BarangayBinitayin

  24. Locale of the study Anislag resettlement Site,Daraga,Albay

  25. Note on the methodology • The use of narrative analysis is relevant for • it captures the event that changed the lives of the people and • how they continue to find meanings on the common experiences they have had and how they rebuild the community through combination of their resiliency to hardship, their adaptation to unfamiliar circumstances and their resistance to change.

  26. On the methodology • The narratives are complemented with observations and interviews to shed light on the reality in the resettlement area. • The purpose of which is to give a voice to resettled individuals, families and the members of the communities who otherwise might not be heard. • The output is a written record of the lives of the resettlers from their perspectives and from their own words.

  27. On Methodology • Demography without Numbers (Scheper-Hughes, 1997) • Anthropologically informed demography • Instead of counting the homeless victims of natural disaster, their traumatic experiences were recounted • Instead of counting the resettled families, their support system (network) were documented • Research findings have application to public policy and everyday life.

  28. The In-0ut Seeker-Provider (IOSP) Framework (Varda,et al 2007)

  29. The Vulnerability Perspective ( Donner and Rodriguez, 2008) • Assumes that a real disaster occurs when it strikes an under privileged population • “Characteristics of a person or group and their situation that influences their capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist, and recover from the impact of a natural hazard”

  30. Results and Discussion The Affected residents have common experiences after typhoon Reming • All were homeless • Livelihoods were disrupted • Everyone panic with rising floodwater and strong current • The flight after the panic was to move to neighbor’s houses with second floor • Schooling of children were disrupted • Schools serve as evacuation centers • Relief goods were donated regularly by various agencies GOs and NGO • Became home beneficiaries in the Anislag Resettlement Area • Everyone assisted in building homes

  31. Life Before Typhoon Reming: The Beginning of the Story • Men were farmers • Husband of Gina was a Cement factory worker • Some were tricycle drivers • Family of Danilo owned a sari-sari store • Women were vegetable gardeners, cloth and basket weavers • Jennifer was in buy and sell • Felicitas was a dressmaker • Mylene was peanut vendor • Gina was a laundrywoman

  32. But each has their own stories to tell about their experiences with disaster (“Differential Vulnerability”) • Different populations face different levels of risk and vulnerability • Some were worse hit than others • Some recovered faster than others • Some were more satisfied in the resettlement area than others • Some enjoyed better housing conditions than others

  33. Mercuria lost her husband and 5 children • Only 1 child (11 year old boy)of her 6 children survived • Husband, a pastor also perished • House is near the river, • suffered temporary amnesia • One of the 61 DSWD beneficiary

  34. Gina : A Compassionate Beneficiary • An entrepreneur makes rice cake (puto) • Son is a member of Compassion- receive Php1,500.00 worth of school supplies and uniforms • Live in tents from March to August 2007 • Perceived the resettlement area as safe

  35. Jennifer no previous experience with Disaster • No past experience with flashflood • Suffered from hunger • One year old child was place in a basin for safety during the flood • No government warnings received • Neighbors rescued them

  36. House made of Stone, saves many families in the neighborhood

  37. Felicitas, the dressmaker • Water was already chest high when she was rescued • Stayed for 5 months in Bagumbayan elementary school • Relocated in tents for I year • Friends dug her sewing machine and was repaired • Thankful that the flashflood occurred in the morning

  38. Mylene’s husband was not home when their house was swept away by water current • At home with her 5 children • Husband was away attending a town fiesta • Children held on to cable wire to prevent from drowning • Grateful to the following organizations: Red Cross, ABS-CBN and government officials, governor, congressman and mayor of Legaspi

  39. Relief Goods: Sardinas, Noodles, Bigas (SNB)

  40. Marites, the pregnant woman • Was 2 months pregnant when they home was washed away by the current • Sought refuge to the neighbor’s house and later moved to Tuazon building • Swore to never return to the old village

  41. Rebecca’s story Happy reunion with husband after the chaos and panic • Husband took her and children to the neighbor’s house • Husband panic when he did not find his family in the house where he left them • Tricycle was buried under mud debris and recovered a week after • A child is a Compassion beneficiary and their house was built by Compassion

  42. Irma and the wedding feast • Lost six pigs intended for the wedding of her husband’s younger sister • estimated cost of properties that were destroyed was Php30,000.00 to Php 40,000.00 • Sought shelter at their neighbor’s house • Walked shoulder to shoulder in chest high water where it took them an hour to walk to the school house which was only a five minute walk

  43. The stories of the Farmers; Flaviano, Rodolfo and Edmundo • Rodolfo, farms a 2 hectare farm lot for 35 years • Built canals around his rice field to let the rainwater carry the sand downstream • The old folks belief that typhoons do not always occur in succession was not always true • Today he buys rice whereas in the past he was self sufficient with rice

  44. The stories of the Farmers; Flaviano, Rodolfo and Edmundo • Edmundo is a 45 year old high school graduate • Worked as construction worker during off-farm season • heard rumors that the govt. Is no longer interested in rehabilitating their farms or their community • But plans to convert it to a ecotourism area • Flaviano is 41 year old with BS accountancy degree • Farming his .44ha land since he was 20 years old • A bachelor • No plans to live elsewhere

  45. Behavior of Respondents During Disaster in Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

  46. Responses of Disaster-stricken Individuals‟ in Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

  47. Sources of Warning, Daraga, Albay, Philippines, 2008.

  48. Sandy Farmlands Photp courtesy Of Evasco,K Bicol University

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