By: Sally Mae D. Abugan
Pagsanjan Sub-Office sdo laguna
Pagsanjan Integrated National High School
Our country, the Philippines is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. We sit in the Pacific Ring of Fire making as prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Apart from these we also lie in the center of a typhoon belt that’s why most of our islands are regularly impacted by typhoon, floods, and landslides.
And because we have high vulnerability to these natural hazards, our Philippine Congress enacted the National Disaster Risk Reduction Act that will establish a multilevel disaster risk management system throughout the country. As such, NDDRMC will be the one responsible for ensuring the protection and welfare of the people during disasters or emergencies. They had been tasked to prepare a response plan for each possible and perceived disaster.
However, they can’t do it alone so we must do our part.
As educators and learners, we need to contribute in the implementation of the above- mentioned disaster plan developed by our government.
On the other hand, research shows that natural disasters had a psychological impact on the life of every learners. It can hinder a student’s ability to perform well in school as learning was delayed whenever these natural disasters occur. Thus, lower academic performance, and higher rates of absenteeism are evident among children who have experienced climate shocks.
For this reason, Disaster Management had been included in the current curriculum of schools in the country. Students were educated on how to address these natural crises. Further, they were thought survival skills as the government firmly believes that awareness among the student community will help build a better, stronger and resilient nation.
Needless to say, its proven that disaster preparedness could saves lives, speeds up community recovery and even saves money. The school community benefitted also as they become more practically and emotionally ready because of this awareness to emergency preparedness they had learned.
And while the country is exposed to hazards that can alter our everyday living, teaching Disaster Readiness and Reduction unto our classes will gives us the power to cope up whatever the situation we may encounter in the future. More importantly, preparing ourselves and our schools ahead of time can really make a big difference on how we respond and cope whatever disaster that might come.
