UP Forum January-February 2014

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VOLUME 15 NUMBER 1

JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014

Rising from the Rubble UP's Response in the Wake of Typhoon Yolanda, Part II

See Part I, "The Day the Oblation Stood Still" UP Forum, November-December 2013

2 | Fortun, Forensics and the Yolanda Aftermath: Recovery, Storage, System Restore, Repeat

4 | After the Storm: 16 | Typhoon-toughened Learning and Rebuilding UPM-SHS Building with UP's Technical Bigger and Better he photos that found their way into social media Assessment Team

he absence of a system—responsible for elaborately defining deaths to be investigated, identifying who will examine them and determining how the examiners conduct the investigation—results in misidentification and loss of bodies, stolen property, extortion by funeral parlor personnel, fake death claims and claimants, among numerous problems.

This observation was discussed in “Managing the Dead in a Mass Casualty Incident,” excerpted by UP Padayon Reports (2011) from Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun’s book Management of the Dead

n the 8th of November 2013, the world watched as Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) tore through Guian, Samar, causing widespread flooding and landslides. Said to be the strongest storm to make landfall, the typhoon proceeded to devastate much of central Philippines.

The numbers speak for themselves. A USAID fact sheet released at the end of last year said that an estimated 16 million people were affected by the storm. More than a million houses were either damaged or destroyed, displacing about four times

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right after typhoon Yolanda struck showed the shocking devastation of one of UP's most remote campuses. Pictures of the Oblation standing in front of a washed-out, de-roofed, windowless building, a bent flagpole, debris, and totally defoliated trees pointed to a rare situation in which the UP Manila School of Health Sciences campus would need to suspend operations.

Many expressed sympathy for the state of the small campus of 209 constituents—a pioneer in building health manpower for the country's remote and underserved communities, and thus responsible

2 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

Photo from Dr. Raquel Fortun. Cover photo by Mark Zambrano with Jonathan Umali, GMA News, https://www.facebook.com/gmanews/photos/a.126333131976.110480.116724526976/10151894239831977/?type=1&permPage=1

FORTUN, FORENSICS AND THE YOLANDA AFTERMATH... continued from page 1

Arbeen Acuña During Disasters: A Manual for the Philippines (2007),” The absence of such a system was evident in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda. Another obvious consequence was the national government’s downplaying of the number of casualties.

In her article, Dr. Fortun said an on-call Philippine Disaster Mortuary Response Team (DMORT) with pathologists, dentists, anthropologists and radiologists was organized to professionalize the handling of the dead.

Among the factors the team had to consider were: the type of incident, estimated number of fatalities, probable condition of the remains, location of the incident, personnel, and funding.

Initial Processes: Recover and Store Remains shall be retrieved as soon as possible to improve the accuracy of identification and “lessen the distress among the living,” said Fortun. Site layout prior to the incident shall be taken into consideration so that one can approximately determine where best to look for passengers, occupants or residents.

The affected area shall be mapped so that a systematic and expeditious search plan can be enforced while ensuring that places already searched are marked to avoid useless repetitions.

Fortun mentioned a number of means to document relevant details. These include drawing a simple sketch of the scene and marking the spot where the bodies are recovered; taking photographs or videos; and mapping via GPS (Global Positioning device). Shots shall include over-all shots and close-ups, if possible, noting the date and time the image was taken. The documentation proce-

dures depend on the availability of resources.

Separated body parts and items (such as evidence and property) shall be tagged as “PARTS” and “PROPERTY,” emphasized Fortun. Should the respective parts and/or the items obviously belong to a particular body, those shall be placed with that body. Otherwise, the location in reference to the nearest body/bodies must be noted. In collecting and transporting remains, property and evidence, Fortun said that a general principle in securing physical evidence is to ensure against loss, contamination, tampering, switching or damage; hence, remains shall not be exposed and must be kept covered at all times.

As regards “contracting infectious disease from dead bodies,” Fortun said that the risk is small and [these] basic measures alone [i.e. wearing heavy duty gloves and boots, hand washing and a change of clothes after handling remains] should be enough. She further said that advantages in wearing masks are largely psychological, and hence should not be encouraged

especially because it will not block the inevitable unpleasant smell from decomposing remains which do not pose a health risk.

Ideally, there shall be “refrigerated container vans” with temperature at four degrees centigrade “to preserve the remains while awaiting examination and release,” Fortun said.

However, in reality, remains quickly decompose due to the absence of refrigeration; thus it is practical to properly mark and accurately tag temporary burial or embalming, which postpones decomposition once chemical preservatives are injected into the body.

Post-Yolanda Identification: Differences In an interview with the UP FORUM, Dr. Fortun, forensic pathologist and UP College of Medicine professor who headed the post-Sendong forensics team of UP Padayon in 2011, recounted how the Department of Health (DOH), under the command of the Office of the President, organized a team to manage the identification of bodies in the affected areas in the Visayas.

The team was led by Dr. Chito Avelino, for “Oplan Tamang Libing” intended to manage dead bodies postYolanda. Fortun said, “I was consulted

by DOH on Nov. 14, together with foreign World Health Organization

(WHO) consultants. The decision on how to organize the DOH response team including the people involved, the procedure on how to do the postmortem examination and antemortem information gathering, what logistical supplies were needed, etc. was a collaborative effort among the DOH, the WHO and me. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) were also represented in our Nov. 15 final meeting.”

With pressure brought about by urgency, magnitude, limitations, the team had to act fast, regardless of the seemingly inversely proportional total of resources and remains. “All the remains would therefore undergo basic examination, inventory, tagging and orderly burial. The idea was to record as much postmortem information as possible, then bury the bodies without compromising identification,” said Fortun. The places where bodies were retrieved were documented under the DOH-WHO system, followed by individual bagging, sequential tagging and descriptive and photo-documented physical examination.

“Initially the collection point for Tacloban bodies was a small cemetery in Barangay Basper. Upon our recommendation the LGU identified a site for the collection, examination and burial of the bodies in Barangay Suhi.

We started to bury the remains already examined in an orderly manner, mapped out in trenches, to facilitate exhumation of particular bodies for later identification.”

After recovery and storage, the next step was identification, which was carried out by “comparison of postmortem and antemortem.” continued on page 3

Fortun at Barangay Basper, their first work site.

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 3 A line of casualties drawn along Basper cemetery.

FORTUN, FORENSICS AND THE YOLANDA AFTERMATH... continued from page 2 Commencing on Nov. 18, ten days after the incident, these examinations were “limited to determination of sex and general age category (infant, child, adult); documenting clothes, jewelry, other personal effects like wallets, phones; checking for tattoos.” The team recorded the information in “a much simplified, short form—maximum of 3 pages.” In contrast, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) preferred the “INTERPOL way. It entailed detailed postmortem exams per body—the forms are around 15 pages long, complete with dental charting— best done by a dentist, and DNA sampling—best is to saw off a section of the thigh bone or extract teeth.” All these procedures, despite the fact that they were mere fingerprinting “was not practical, if not impossible.”

Fortun said the INTERPOL way is “very tedious and time-consuming— not to mention the packaging, labeling, and storage of the samples, though not necessarily more accurate than the DOH-WHO way” and that “NBI merely mentions DNA sampling, not actual testing.” She added, “The insistence of the NBI—and the PNP which is tasked to take charge of ‘man-made’ disaster victim identification or DVI—on using the INTERPOL protocol is not practical.

It is also not universally accepted. First-world countries with death investigation systems in place (e.g. US, UK, Japan) do not rely on the INTERPOL system. The emphasis on DNA in the identification of victims of mass disasters in 3rd world countries is also misplaced.”

Fortun expressed uncertainty whether the

Volunteers amid the buried and unburied dead at Basper cemetery.

NBI’s decisions were geared “toward understating or delaying the official death toll.” She “believe[s] it is more of institutional arrogance, insisting that they are in charge even if they are undermanned, minimally trained and ill-equipped for the job.” She said that the NBI attended the aforesaid Nov. 15 DOH meeting. “The NBI officerin-charge and their chief medico-legal doctor” were present when the group agreed that they “would be assigned to different places in the Visayas and were to work separately,” given that “there were so many dead.” She further said, “ the NBI had no disaster victim identification (DVI) system in place when the DOH team started work in Tacloban on Nov. 18. Then on Nov. 22, they practically grabbed what the DOH had set up and they just had to work also in Tacloban. There is no news of the NBI examining the dead in other places.”

Pre-Yolanda Propositions: Reprise “The unpleasant encounter with the NBI over forensic matters such as DVI is not new or unique to the DOH Tacloban experience,” said Fortun, since it had happened “when UP sent a forensic team to help Iligan with its

dead, post-Sendong. The same thing happened although the confrontation was slightly more civil [then]. The 3-day trip to Iligan in 2011 was a waste of time and resources, forensics-wise.”

Despite existing documents with relevant information for capacitybuilding and post-disaster measures, it seems that the same mistakes are repeated because recommendations of field experts and concerned stakeholders were not applied and tested. This is perhaps due to limited resources, the aforesaid “institutional arrogance,” and the inadequate political will of the national government to institutionalize new, better systems.

“Every time we encounter a disaster with multiple casualties—and they are occurring with alarming regularity— we panic and scramble when confronted with so many dead bodies.

We do not learn from each incident but merely react, come up with some semblance of a management-of-thedead response and once the bodies are buried—typically unidentified, they are soon forgotten,” said Fortun. She reiterated her suggestion in her 2007 article that calls for the institutionalization of a DMORT, “preferably within the more general context of finally setting a national death investigation system. The present ‘system’

merely assigns ‘natural’ disasters to NBI and the ‘man-made’ ones to PNP. Neither of them is up to the task.

Ironically this is according to DOH Administrative Order 2007-18, from the institution itself which is supposed to be in charge of the dead.”

“Death is a health concern and therefore death investigation—identification, cause and manner determination—falls under the mandate of the DOH, not the police or an agency like the NBI. This is how it goes in developed countries,” said Fortun. “It was such a pleasant surprise therefore for DOH to actually organize a forensic team for Yolanda’s dead. I very willingly helped when asked to. But it was such a disappointment that they dissolved the team they organized after only a week. Later I was told it was upon orders of the OP. Too bad even the dead like the survivors were victims twice over, of the strongest storm ever recorded, and petty politics.”

Perhaps the post-disaster tragedy— of downplaying the effects of the actual disaster for the sake of the government’s popularity ratings—is beyond “petty politics.” With this mismanagement comes criminal injustice, which perpetuates, with the issue of overpriced bunkhouses, among many overlapping layers of corrupt practices that cost human lives. This post-disaster tragedy of the Aquino government’s indolence and insensitivity merits prosecution. If we go by Oxford dictionary’s definition that “forensics” pertains to “scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of crime,” then this article is an attempt at gathering and presenting “forensic evidence” suggesting that a crime of neglect has been committed, and the culprits remain at large. The justice that the victims and plaintiffs demand is yet to be served, as the order of damages, with other accompanying penalties, is yet to be pronounced.

-------------------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.

4 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

AFTER THE STORM... continued from page 1

Andre Encarnacion that number in the process. Most unfortunate of all, more than six thousand people were recorded to have perished. At the time of this writing, bodies were still being found across the Visayas.

And on that day, watching intently with the rest of the world was Jose Danilo Silvestre, director of the UP Diliman Office for Initiatives for Culture and the Arts (OICA).

Like many others, Silvestre felt the urge to help but was unsure how to do so. As a professor and administrator of UP, however, he was further motivated by two UP campuses reportedly ravaged by the typhoon.

These were the UP Visayas Tacloban College and the UP School of Health

team—a collection of experts from various disciplines whose output would guide rehabilitation efforts.

The team's initial sortie had two primary objectives. The first was to do an advanced assessment of the damage done to both UP Tacloban and the School of Health Sciences.

The second, which would be accomplished simultaneously, was to get a first-hand appreciation of what happened to the surrounding cities of these schools.

"Very good," the President told him. "Organize the team and we'll support it."

Assembly Assembling such a diverse cast of

professor, Dr. Mahar Lagmay, who immediately volunteered his services.

He would also bring with him a pair of researchers, Jerico E. Mendoza and John Kenneth B. Suarez from Project NOAH, to assist him.

For the team's structural and civil engineers, he asked the advice of a friend, Prof. Oscar Antonio, associate dean of the College of Engineering.

He and Silvestre had been working on the new College of Engineering master plan when Typhoon Yolanda hit the country.

"Oca, I need a structural engineer and a civil engineer to accompany me," he told Antonio. "Could you suggest anybody?"

"Ako, Dan," was Antonio's quick

First Sight Even before a member of the team had set foot in the Visayas, the team found its first breakthrough through former UP professor Bangy Dioquino who had recently returned from an eight-year stint in Korea.

Dioquino and his team had embarked on a most useful venture.

"They do aerial photogrammetry using small drones. Because of that they were able to go in very, very fast," Silvestre said. In fact Dioquino and his team were able to provide photogrammetric data six days after Haiyan hit.

These expeditions allowed Dioquino to supply the team with vital information on ground-level conditions that

Photos taken during the team's assessment of the damage inflicted by Typhoon Yolanda on the UPV-Tacloban campus and its buildings.

Photos by Arch. Jose Danilo Silvestre

Sciences in Palo.

"I felt that we had to see first-hand what had actually occurred," he said, "not just what we heard from the news accounts."

In addition to his current post, Silvestre is also well-known both as an architect and an environmental planner—a dual expertise that would be of great significance. Furthermore, his organizational skills and standing as the former dean of the UP College of Architecture would also come into good use later.

After a meeting with UP President Alfredo E. Pascual and Vice President for Public Affairs Prospero De Vera, Silvestre finally had his opportunity to help. He became the first member of UP's technical assessment

characters with the narrow window available to make a difference was the first challenge. The assessment team, Silvestre remembers telling the president, should not only be composed of architects, and planners but also geohazards experts and engineers to analyze the effect of the typhoon on buildings, structures and infrastructure.

By then, he already had one volunteer: fellow architect-planner, Prof.

Michael Tomeldan from the College of Architecture. This provided him with the initial piece of the assessment puzzle. Now he needed to find the others.

Silvestre then contacted noted geohazards expert and UP National Institute of Geology (UP-NIGS)

reply. "I want to go."

Antonio also had a colleague, Prof. William Mata from the Institute of Civil Engineering, who was interested in joining. Finally, through Vice President De Vera, Silvestre was introduced to Dr. Kristoffer Berse, faculty of the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) having also earned a PhD in Urban Engineering from Tokyo.

"Perfect," Silvestre remarked.

"That way we'd also have that governance perspective, which would come into play later."

With Berse's addition, Silvestre's team was ready to deploy. And by the end of November, with the Visayas still in turmoil, they got their marching orders.

would guide their progress. "They did the work gratis, without any charges, and they met with us and provided us with the information."

"We met also at Mahar’s office, and showed him the information, and he said 'this is perfect, there is a lot of information we can gather from that.'"

Actually getting to Leyte, however, was slightly more complicated.

Because of the state of confusion caused by the typhoon, Silvestre and his team fou nd themselves on separate flights, with Silvestre arriving a day in advance of everyone else. After meeting with UP Tacloban Dean Anita Cular, with some of the faculty and administrative staff of UP Tacloban, he did an initial ocular continued on page 5

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 5

AFTER THE STORM... continued from page 4

inspection of both the damage to the school and to the surrounding areas.

"All along the road leading from the airport to the city, you could see debris," Silvestre noted. "The areas near the airport were hit hard. The roads were cleared, because that's the first priority. But the informal communities, fishermen's communities...

Those were flattened. It was like a war zone."

The rest of the team arrived the following day after initially being bumped off their flight. As they could

with those who experienced the storm surge first-hand.

The team attempted to rent a van for their visit to the School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte and a 113hectare site owned by UP in Sta. Elena. This attempt was stymied, however, as vehicles were by then in very short supply, so many of them having been damaged by the storm surge beyond repair.

Fortunately, the church of Dr. Charlie Labarda of the UP SHS had a van the team could borrow. The team then decided to optimize by splitting the remaining survey work. Silvestre,

higher floors were relatively in sound condition. In fact, the 2nd floor of the Main Building was already being used to store relief goods. It was only at the ground floor that documents, furnishings and school equipment were damaged or destroyed.

Dean Cular, with the faculty, staff and students had already done a substantial amount of work: clearing debris, cleaning the various facilities and trying to rehabilitate whatever they could with the limited resources they had. They had also prepared one of the second floor classrooms, screened the windows against the

ever, the main building was lucky.

Given how all the debris seemed to fall in the same direction, all the tree trunks missed the building, colliding instead with the lightly-constructed covered walks. "So nag-collapse yung covered walks at may damage sa roofs. But that was pretty much it.

The rest of the structures were okay."

The college library, museum and multipurpose hall told a similar story. While the roof of the library was nearly completely blown off and the third-floor windows of the multipurpose hall were practically gone, the structures themselves stood

Photos by Arch. Jose Danilo Silvestre

The team assesses Typhoon Yolanda's impact on the UPM-School of Health Sciences campus. Top photo, extreme left, shows two members of the team, Engr. Oscar Antonio (left) and Arch. Michael Tomeldan (right). Arch. Tomeldan is also shown taking pictures in top photo, third from left.

not fit everyone in the service vehicle provided by UP Tacloban Associate Dean Anida Lorenzo, the Project NOAH team took the first trip from the airport. What they saw on the way was so arresting that they could not help but stop several times along the way to survey the scenes of the disaster, and take photographs.

At the airport, Tomeldan, Antonio and Mata were likewise making productive use of their time. Rather than passively waiting for the return of the vehicle, the remaining trio decided to walk almost four kilometers after surveying the damage at the airport, doing similar work on the areas along the way. The service vehicle eventually picked them up along the road.

Upon reaching UP Tacloban, and after a brief meeting with Silvestre to coordinate activities, Tomeldan joined the engineers in assessing the structures and campus. Dr. Lagmay's group turned over an initial set of hazard maps to Dean Cular after a brief meeting, and some interviews

Tomeldan, Antonio and Mata set off for Palo; while Lagmay, and the Project NOAH team made their way on foot and by tricycle toward Tacloban proper.

"Aside from the campus, they looked at the city. They went to the port area, where there were ships that were lifted by the storm surge and brought down on the shanties," Silvestre said.

Tacloban Campus "You know, surprisingly, and a bit to our relief, although UP Tacloban was hit by the storm surge, the damage was relatively light," Silvestre said.

Virtually all the major buildings were structurally sound—meaning that in terms of the frame and the walls of the building, they were in no danger of collapsing. "There was no structural damage other than the roofs."

In a reconstruction of what happened, Silvestre narrated that while the ground floor of the main building was completely inundated, all the

onslaught of mosquitoes for the team to use as its quarters while there.

Electricity and water, on the other hand, had not been restored. The only power available was from a small portable generator which could only run for a few hours in the afternoon to run a few laptops, and charge devices like flashlights, emergency lights, and mobile phones. At night, the genset ran from 8pm to 2am to provide minimum lighting for the campus.

Fortuitously, the main building was protected by the once-verdant UP Botanical Garden. Stories claim that the wind and the storm surge smashed into and uprooted many of the trees. "They were carried by the water across the road, where they hit the perimeter fence of UP Tacloban, which essentially collapsed along the whole stretch of the road." When the fence collapsed, the storm surge carried the fallen trees and dumped them into the campus.

From the team's assessment, how-

firm. Like the main building, the first floors of these buildings were both inundated. But with cleaning, diligent repairs and new equipment, these buildings could potentially be used again.

That's not to say that the storm surge did not cause its fair share of scares and devastation on campus.

Silvestre shared stories of students in the UP Tacloban dormitories who were treading water and literally grabbing hold of ceiling fans when the storm surge hit. Luckily, the storm surge subsided about ten minutes after it came.

If the main building was shielded by tall trees, the northwest portion of the campus was shielded in turn by the elevated site of the Leyte Park Hotel. Surprisingly, the windows fronting the storm surge did not break, leading the team to conclude that perhaps the storm surge was not as strong in this area as it was in the rest of the city. continued on page 11

6 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

Psychosocial Aspects of Healing

Helping Yolanda Survivors Find Wellness, Wholeness, Growth and Healing Violeta V. Bautista

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isasters impact strongly on the whole being of the individuals, groups and families affected. This means that disasters not only harm the physical health and economic stability of victims. It also affects their mental, spiritual, social and emotional well-being.

The good news is that the majority of survivors can pull themselves together and deal with the aftermath, especially if they are provided psychosocial support.

Psychosocial Support in the field of disaster mental health (referred to as MHPSS as representing mental health and psychosocial support or MHPSS) are strategies and programs that seek to help individuals, families and communities (i) rebound from crisis; (ii) moderate their stress reactions to disaster; (iii) resist forces towards hopelessness and destabilization, and (iv) develop strengths and competencies not only to survive, but also to grow in the face of disaster.

In the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, the UP Diliman Department of Psychology (UPDDP) marshalled its resources and competencies to reach out to individuals, groups, and families affected by the typhoon.

A few weeks after the disaster, students from UP Visayas Tacloban College (UPVTC) started to cross enrol at the UP Diliman Campus. The UPDDP had its share of majors from UPVTC enrolling in both psychology and non-psychology subjects.

There were also UPVTC students who took psychology courses as electives.

Dr. Violeta Bautista speaks to UP Tacloban students at the orientation program for cross-enrollees held at the Palma Hall Annex, UP Diliman.

and had the opportunity to share their needs and concerns as new students in the campus who are also recovering from a disaster experience. Some of these students continue to meet with the teachers and students they had met in the welcome gathering for updates and affirmation of friendship bonds.

The Department also partnered with the Department of Computer Sciences and the Department of Biology in reaching out to students affected by Typhoon Yolanda. Volunteer faculty, graduate students and alumni of the UPDDP provided individual and/or group psychosocial processing to af-

weakness or of psychiatric illness, but a creative and responsible way of helping oneself move forward after a most trying experience.

In response to the request of UP Diliman faculty, the UPDDP collaborated with the Office of the Director of Instruction to conduct a workshop for UP Diliman faculty members on addressing the psychosocial needs of students.

One of the venues where the Department began to reach out was Facebook.

They created posts to let people know that they were providing psychological support to students and employees who have relatives living in provinces ravaged by the storm.

Aside from this, the Department also offered an intensive three-day training workshop— Photos from the UP Diliman Department of Psychology

UP Diliman Department of Psychology chair Dr. Grace Aquiling Dalisay welcomes UP Tacloban cross-enrollees to UP Diliman.

As an expression of the Department’s wish to welcome and lend support to its students from UP Tacloban, the Department hosted a welcome gathering for both their psychology majors and non-psych cross enrollees from UP Tacloban. In the welcome gathering, the UP Tacloban students made friends with UP Diliman students and faculty, were oriented on Diliman campus life,

fected students from these departments.

Through such activities, the students were able to enhance their effectiveness in dealing with life’s challenges.

Headed by the UPDDP Wellness Committee, these groups began to offer life coaching and psychotherapy sessions. Affected students and families are now discovering that seeking psychosocial support is not a sign of

"Bringing Hope to Disaster Survivors: A Course on Application of Psychosocial Support in Disaster Situations."

The workshop was attended by 30 graduate students and faculty. UNILAB expressed its solidarity with the Department’s efforts at capacity building by providing free meals and snacks while the Philippine Pediatric Society gave the group free use of their

seminar room and facilities.

After the workshop, some of the attendees began sharing what they learned with other colleagues so more people could help disaster victims more effectively.

More recently, relief workers from Barangay Amorsolo have asked the Department to assist them in providing care not just to the victims they were helping, but to their own staff as well. Once more, the UPDDP Wellness Committee is mobilizing its volunteer psychologists to provide communitybased care for barangay workers who are feeling the strain of journeying with individuals and families who have survived Yolanda but continue to deal with the ravages that the disaster experience brings. The Department’s volunteer psychologists will also be meeting with the affected families living in the UP campus to engage them in kumustahan, a process expected to clarify the families’ psychosocial needs and the ways that they wish to be helped by friend-psychologists from the UP community. The meeting is expected to help create opportunities that will make it easier for affected individuals and communities to access psychosocial support being provided by the Department.

Seeing the need to provide an environment conducive to helping relationship not only for those affected by the Yolanda typhoon but also for those seeking growth and healing from the Department’s volunteer and professional psychologists, the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) has designated rooms within the Palma Hall building for psychological support and psychotherapy. These rooms will serve as places where wellness and wholeness activities will be offered for CSSP and UP campus constituents.

Even before Yolanda, the UPDDP, together with other UP units, already saw the possibility that disasters can continued on page 7

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 7

UP CWS Extends Psychosocial Support, Commits to Rebuild Photo from the UP Diliman Department of Psychology

Fred Dabu

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he University of the Philippines Center for Women's Studies (UP CWS), a UP system-wide office, was among the immediate responders to extend relief and psychosocial support to the survivors of typhoon Yolanda last November.

Dr. Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, director of the UP CWS and professor at the UP College of Social Work and Community Development (UP CSWCD), shared some of her insights and recommendations for the UP community.

PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS... continued from page 6 hit a UP college or even a whole UP community such as what happened in UP Tacloban. In the spirit inspired by the framework of DRRM (Disaster Risk Reduction and Management), the UP system through UP Padayon has instituted a system-wide disaster preparedness program.

The program includes a workshop on Disaster Preparedness that will be brought to different campuses of the University of the Philippines.

The workshop was first conducted in UP Diliman in October 2013. The second run took place in UP Baguio, on the second week of January this year. The Department is pleased that the UP System sees the importance of including a section on MHPSS in the workshop’s curriculum. Indeed responsible preparation for disasters and true healing from the ravages of disasters necessarily require a component on learning the knowledge and skills of providing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).

There is a saying that “To whom much is given, much is also expected.”

The faculty and students of the Department of Psychology feel that they are recipients of much blessing because of their training and competencies in helping disaster survivors. And so it is their desire to be able to use their skills to really help people find wellness, wholeness, growth and healing.

-------------------Dr. Bautista is chair of the UPDDP Wellness Committee and head of the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program.

Email her at forum@upd.edu.ph.

Cut the bureaucracy According to Claudio "cutting the bureaucracy in times of disasters" to be able to immediately address the needs of survivors is "one of the most important principles in psychosocial relief support." She said the UP Tacloban coordinator relayed vital information about their immediate needs, information which also hinted at the level of rehabilitation faced by survivors, which allowed the UP administration to respond accordingly.

Claudio said the UP CWS has since been assisting survivors and volunteers alike. Its linkages with the gender of-

them," Claudio said. During the first week, the set of requested relief goods included food and other basic needs like candles, flashlights, and chlorine tablets for the purification of drinking water. Recent requests, meanwhile, included mosquito nets and “trapal” for their temporary shelters. Old shower curtains would also be needed in relocation centers "because the need for privacy is always there."

Integrate the support measures The UP CWS held orientation seminars for counsellors and volunteers who can give psychosocial assistance and counselling to survivors. We had a series of orientation seminars for UP and non-UP volunteers going to the relief areas or working with the people at Villamor (airbase)," recounted Claudio.

Integrating psychosocial support measures with other services, not making it a separate activity, is another principle in giving psychosocial support. "You integrate these support measures with the services of every team that goes to meet survivors. These survivors can be the people who were hit by the storm, the people who have been transported

tries, especially due to climate change, Claudio said disaster preparedness and psychosocial support trainings should be systematized and done in all colleges and campuses. "Scientists are saying things would get worse. There's a new normal. Then we must have a more systematized program of support and skills."

Claudio also expressed optimism that their training with the MMDA last year improved their capability to give psychosocial support when they were deployed in the affected areas.

"Our strength would be on being very sensitive to vulnerable populations like women and children, the elderly and the disabled, and giving emphasis to community organizing and solidarity relationships as the real backbone of recovery and rehabilitation in terms of psychosocial support work," she said.

Since differently-affected students, faculty and staff of UP have varying needs, Claudio acknowledged the important contributions and psychosocial support efforts by other UP units, such as the Office of the UP Diliman Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Department of Psychology of the College

Photos from the UP Center for Women's Studies Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/upcws/photos_stream

Above: Dr. Sylvia Claudio, director of the UP Center for Women's Studies

fices of the UP campuses in Tacloban, Iloilo, Cebu and Mindanao facilitated moves to help the people in areas devastated by the typhoon. Coordination with the UP Tacloban office "served as a very good channel for (responding to) the needs of the staff and faculty of UP Tacloban."

UP CWS activity updates, as well as call for donations, were posted in their web site and Facebook page. The UP CWS and the UP CWS Foundation gathered donations "with particular emphasis on the often neglected needs of women and children, such as sanitary napkins and adult and baby diapers," and sent sanitary kits coursed through the CSWCD. "When I was helping with packing relief goods at the CSWCD, I noticed we quickly ran out of children's clothes and underwear, as well as women's and men's underwear. We had to purchase

to Villamor, and, often neglected, the first responders," she said.

According to Claudio, psychosocial support is seen in the "creative, resourceful, and compassionate volunteer who will problem-solve." It could be as simple as giving proper information to people or looking for their basic needs, such as food and water, locating their loved ones, transportation, and others.

"If we can answer with compassion and adequate information, then that is already a very important aspect of psychosocial support. You have to be very good at problem-solving. You have to be very respectful and compassionate.

You have to be culturally-sensitive," she said.

Systematize disaster preparedness Noting that the Philippines ranks very high among disaster-prone coun-

of Social Sciences and Philosophy, and the College of Education.

Review the budget process According to Claudio, as soon as the typhoon hit, the UP CWS immediately imposed forced savings by scaling down its silver anniversary and Christmas celebrations while trying to find ways to efficiently and legally use their resources for the relief efforts. However, regulations on the use of funds and the budgeting process would have to be reviewed if the UP CWS is to be allowed to re-allocate or set aside an emergency fund for disaster response.

Claudio plans to save 20 percent of their annual budget for possible use in disaster relief. "I understand why these regulations are important—to avoid malversation, corruption, or misuse of funds. But perhaps we should also continued on page 11

8 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

To Serve and To Heal

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila’s Yolanda Relief Operations

The UP Manila Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Team goes to Guiuan via C130 for a medical mission.

Carlos Primero Gundran, Salvador Isidro Destura & KIM Quilinguing

O

n November 12, 2013, four days after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck several areas in the Visayas region, two doctors from UP Manila set out for Tacloban City to investigate the extent of damage in the city, particularly in UP Visayas’Tacloban College campus and the School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte.

Aside from investigation, the twoman team also assessed the challenges to medical professionals and volunteers from the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila in assisting the victims of the super typhoon and the affected members of the university community.

Yolanda was not the first time the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod provided medical assistance. A few weeks before the storm ravaged Samar and Leyte, the organization had sent a team to conduct relief efforts in Bohol after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake devastated much of the island.

All-volunteer, service-oriented organization Formed in 1994, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila is an all-volunteer, service-oriented organization providing knowledge and skills from the university’s health and sciences center to underserved areas in the country. In the aftermath of several natural disasters in the early 90’s, a Disaster Management Program was created by a committee of the Pahinungod and integrated into the organization’s activities in 1994.

The program provides for the formation of medical relief

operations teams which will respond to disasters in any part of the country in the soonest possible time. These operations require cooperation with national government agencies, local government units, non-government organizations and international relief agencies.

Volunteers to the relief operations teams are trained in all aspects of disaster response. Other members of the UP Manila community also get involved in the collection of goods and materials which may be needed by the disaster-affected areas.

By October 1995, the Pahinungod was already conducting disasters management activities in San Fernando, Pampanga. Among the services they provided were: • direct medical services to the community.

• psychosocial processing of the care givers and community members • education and training • sanitation programs in the community

• assistance in livelihood projects • sorting of medicines • assistance in relief operations The program has continued over the years, becoming more of a training course on campus. In 2011, the program was reorganized and was officially re-launched in September 2013.

Since then, the Pahinungod’s Disaster Management Program has performed the following functions in the communities where they conduct their operations: • Educate the local community based on the Community Program on Disaster Preparedness.

• Create awareness in the local community on coordinating with various agencies/LGU’s in times of crisis/need.

• Perform risk assessments for the community and make the appropriate recommendations to mitigate these risks.

• Act as observers in specific drills and trainings related to disaster management.

• Monitor the degree of learning thru drills, simulations, and exercises.

• Apply the knowledge and skills gained in disaster management to their respective community and other community immersion programs.

• Teach and train the local communities on proper disaster management.

The re-organized program also included additional training and activities encompassing the various phases of disaster management.

Post-Sendong relief operations in Iligan City In December 2011, the Pahinungod sent a team to Iligan City in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Sendong (Washi). The team was joined by experts in geology, psychosocial therapy, local governance and other fields from UP Diliman. The composite team, spearheaded by officials of the UP System administration, is known today as the UP Padayon Disaster Response Team.

Along with the team members from Diliman, the Pahinungod’s experience in disaster response and the knowledge of its experts in pubcontinued on page 9

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod team prepares to board the C130.

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 9

The Ugnayan ng Pahinungod team treating survivors and helping unload relief goods at Guiuan.

TO SERVE AND TO HEAL... continued from page 8 lic health, forensic pathology, health care and medicine proved to be invaluable in providing post-disaster services in the affected areas in Iligan City.

Since then, the Pahinungod has conducted relief operations in several areas in the country struck by natural disasters. These include the postTyphoon Pablo relief operations in Davao Oriental; floods in Cavite; and the 7.2-magnitude earthquake which struck Bohol.

The ‘Pahinungod’ way of relief operations With years of experience in disaster relief operations in several parts of the country, the Pahinungod conducts its missions in a coordinated approach which considers all the necessities for its actions in the field.

A disaster response team of the Pahinungod is organized as soon as instructions from the UP President, the UP Manila Chancellor or the Philippine General Hospital Director are given.

These instructions carry the objectives which the team will do their best to achieve in the area affected by the recent calamity.

Among the factors considered by the team members in organizing an operation is information from the affected area regarding the local population, lay of the land, security, availability of public infrastructure and accessibility.

Reports from locals in the devastated area are vital.

As no operation can be conducted without proper supplies and goods distributed to the locals affected by the disaster, the Pahinungod mobilizes volunteer members of the UP Manila community and calls on UP System offices for support in the form of goods, security, financial assistance and transportation.

The Pahinungod does not have its own warehouse for relief goods and donations only pour into its offices after a call is raised. Once the donations start coming, they come in quantities enough for distribution in the areas to be served by the relief operations team.

While the relief goods and assistance extended to the Pahinungod in its relief operations are similar to those given to

other relief organizations in the country, what makes its Disaster Management Program unique is the expertise of its volunteers in the various fields of health care. This gives the Pahinungod its own brand of disaster response.

The relief mission to Tacloban and Palo The disaster response team faced many challenges. Among these were: difficulties in access to transportation and food; total collapse of telecommunications infrastructure (cellular, radio, satellite); lack of electricity; and security concerns.

Aside from identifying difficulties, the two-man initial team was also tasked to: 1) determine where the students and staff of UPSHS in Palo, Leyte were, and possibly extract them if needed; 2) and determine the distribution area.

devastation.

In Palo, the UPSHS campus was a total wreck with only debris brought by the storm scattered on the ground. Only a semblance of the buildings remained.

Similar to that which happened in the UPV Tacloban College campus, the Oblation also survived Yolanda’s onslaught and remained standing near a bent flag pole.

In the immediate aftermath of the typhoon, students from the UPSHS helped the local population with the training they had as health and medical sciences students. Miraculously, there was no casualty among the faculty, staff and students of the school.

Aside from trying to locate the other members of the UP community in Tacloban and Palo, the Pahinungod team conducted medical and relief goods distribution missions in these areas in

On November 18, 2013, the relief team composed of security personnel; mountaineering experts; and medical and healthcare professionals arrived in Tacloban City in a relief column of several vehicles, including a bus and a 10-wheeler truck carrying relief good from the other constituent units of the UP System. This was after the convoy made the journey from Manila to the city via land and the “roll-on, roll-off” (RORO) ferry.

The relief team arrived at the UPVisayas Tacloban College campus and found it devastated. Strewn on the campus grounds were debris from the buildings, fallen branches from trees and other materials swept by the storm surge. Surprisingly, the Oblation was intact and proudly standing amid the

as orderly a manner as possible.

In Palo, the recipients were chosen from a list of evacuation centers in the municipality. The local government provided a list with four evacuation centers where the services of the Pahinungod team were needed. The team chose the center which had the most number of evacuees.

The team’s doctors later found out that many of the survivors visited the relief operations areas to avail of free medicine. Many were not seriously injured or suffering from illnesses resulting from the calamity.

The conduct of the operations was not without its challenges. Among the difficulties encountered was the need for a system that would distribute relief goods in an orderly manner. In one in-

Photos from the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/pahinungod/photos_stream

stance, there was a local teenager who encouraged the people to start a new line other than that formed by the relief team members. The teenager had to be reprimanded to maintain the smooth distribution of relief goods for those who were already in line.

There were also locals who caused confusion by advising the relief team to conduct its operations in a location other than that which was designated

by Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez. When confronted by the team members, one individual argued that the team should listen to him since the Mayor did not know what the survivors needed and where they were most needed.

Another challenge confronted by the team was the difficulty in communications. The lack of landline, mobile and even satellite phone facilities limited the coordination and movement of the relief operations in Tacloban City and Palo. Internet access was also very difficult days after the disaster.

Despite all these difficulties, the Pahinungod relief team and those who accompanied them conducted the operations in the best way possible. Given the limited resources they brought with them from Manila, they made the most out of a very difficult situation using their knowledge on disaster management, health sciences and the medical profession.

In this age of climate change, the Ugnayan ng Pahinungod Manila is expected to deploy its teams in more parts of the country as storms get stronger and floods occur more frequently. With its dedication to disaster response and its expertise and skills, the Pahinungod embodies UP’s commitment to serve and to heal.

-------------------Dr. Carlos Primero Gundran is the Disaster Drill coordinator for UP Manila. He is also the Disaster Management and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coordinator for the UP-Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Salvador Isidro Destura is the dean of the UP School of Health Sciences campus in Palo, Leyte. Email the authors at forum@ upd.edu.ph.

10 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

Hope of the Future

Student Leaders Speak Up Post-Yolanda Stephanie S. Cabigao

S

tudents may look at natural calamities differently after the recent Super Typhoon Yolanda devastated the whole of Eastern Visayas. Students may start thinking about the road ahead for safety, preparedness and rehabilitation in times of disasters, by ignoring which students, faculty and staff of UP Tacloban and Palo, among others, were left in a vulnerable situation.

The most vital part of planning, say representatives from student institutions, is that efforts must not only provide relief and psychosocial activities but also long-term solutions for the sustenance of those affected.

In an interview with the UP FORUM (UPF), Student Regent (SR) Krista V. Melgarejo and UP Diliman University Student Council Councilor (USCC) Allynna-Haneefa A. Macapado talk about disaster vulnerabilities, impacts, adaptation, mitigation and current agenda on disaster risk management.

Q. How did Typhoon Yolanda affect the students in the disasterstricken regions?

SR: During the first few days after Typhoon Yolanda hit the Eastern Visayas area, our students experienced a lot of emotional struggles upon hearing horrible news from their hometowns. During that period, I encountered one UP Diliman student who cried her heart out because she had heard that several members of her family died during the tragedy. She didn't know what to do and could not even think about where to get money for her tuition and how she would survive.

All she knew was that she lost her loved ones.

But now, a few months after the tragedy, and knowing that their lives will never be the same again, our students are rising up and calling on the UP administration and the national government to immediately address the demands of our countrymen from Eastern Visayas.

USCC: Students affected by Typhoon Yolanda are now most vul-

nerable to the self-serving national administration the Philippines has.

Despite the damage the typhoon has brought, it seems that the administration is not sincere in its actions to help the victims. The government’s rehabilitation program is very slow and the prices of goods and commodities in affected areas are exponentially increasing. More than anything else, aside from the psychological and emotional support students from Eastern Visayas need, their primary concerns are immediate rehabilitation of their campuses and housing units as well as maximum financial assistance from the government for them to be able to continue their studies. Without the national government's quick action to decrease tuition fees in universities, the students would not see any hope in even stepping at the doorsteps of any university again.

Q. How did Typhoon Yolanda affect UP students?

SR: Super Typhoon Yolanda caused a lot of problems for our students, not only in their homes but also with their studies. Those who cross-registered in other constituent universities are having problems with different subjects and curricula. They are also struggling with their STFAP re-bracketting. Student leaders have reported to the Office of the Student Regent (OSR) that cross-registrants still have to go through a rigorous process to prove that they were heavily affected by

Visayas Tacloban College and the UP Manila School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte were devastated by the typhoon, with their buildings almost impossible to rehabilitate.

The typhoon has led the students, both the affected and not, to maximize all possible means to help their fellow Iskolar ng Bayan. More than that, the typhoon has encouraged the students to voice their demands to the administration. It is in times like this that the mandate of the USC to serve not just the students but the entire Filipino people is put to a test.

The USC, being the highest governing body of the studentry faced the challenge of seeing the connection between the impact of typhoon Yolanda and the current issues affecting Philippine society and explain these to the students.

Q. In terms of adaptation and mitigation, what were the practices, options, and constraints that students encountered? What measures do you recommend for the benefit of all stakeholders?

SR: Proper disaster risk management, from the time the disaster occurred until its aftermath, not only providing relief efforts and psychosocial activities but also long-term plans to continually support those who are affected.

USCC: Currently, the affected students, most especially those who chose to continue their studies in Tacloban and Palo,

(labs, etc). For their meals, UP sponsors one meal for each student a day.

The students are asking if this can be extended to three meals. So far, all assistance that the UP Tacloban and UP Palo have been getting are largely from private entities and from the little help the other UP units provide.

However, what the affected students need is not charity from different individuals or groups. What they need is a policy or memorandum from the Board of Regents

Top photo: Student Regent (SR) Krista V. Melgarejo.

Middle photo: UP Diliman USC Councilor AllynnaHaneefa A. Macapado.

Bottom photo: UP Tacloban students for 1000 Meals Concert and Black Shirt Day Protest.

the typhoon.

USCC: A significant percentage of the UP student population has been greatly affected by the typhoon. Two of its campuses, the UP

are asking the university to automatically re-bracket them to Bracket E2.

Dorms / residence halls in these campuses are also in need of immediate repair. The students are also badly in need of working academic facilities

stating concrete assistance from the UP System administration, like automatic re-bracketing to E2 of the students, waiving their dorm fee until they have fully recovered from the typhoon, securing their three meals a day in partnership with the University Food Service, etc. The affected students are in need of special consideration in their academic life, so it would be very beneficial if the University continued on page 11

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 11 Photo by Ian Capistrano

UPCWS EXTENDS... continued from page 7

look at our budgeting processes to see whether some processes can be discovered (to enable us) to more effectively meet disasters," she said.

Commit to long-term rebuilding Claudio said the UP CWS is committed to the long-term effort of rebuilding UP Tacloban. UP could have a long-term group for this purpose, comprised of the constituent units, as well as a response center. "This could be a cluster of people who could look at the continuing rehabilitation. For

AFTER THE STORM... continued from page 5

HOPE OF THE FUTURE... continued from page 10 can provide free make-up lectures for them Q. What are your insights, experience, and lessons from Yolanda?

SR: From this experience, we learned that relief goods and donations can only do so much in the short term. What we need is for the UP administration and the national government to provide Yolanda survivors with substantial long-term solutions.

USCC: The typhoon has made us realize how unprepared the country is when it comes to calamities as strong as Yolanda. The Philippines is lagging behind in its disaster-preparedness measures. The number of deaths the super typhoon caused could have been less if the country was fully prepared when the typhoon struck.

With the advance in technology, it could have been already predicted that mere evacuation to nearby areas was not enough. The Philippines should invest in long-term disasterpreparedness measures especially now that the route of typhoons is slowly changing. However, the Filipino people are stronger than the storm surge. It is in times like this that we see the Filipino people uniting to help our kababayan not just through donations but by asserting and demanding from the national government what they need and what they deserve. Sabi nga, ang karapatan, hindi dapat pinapalimos.

Kung hindi ito binibigay, sama-samang assertion ang kailangan.

Q. What is the OSR’s current agenda in line with disasters?

SR: With this experience, we learned that the UP administration can actually implement a lower tuition rate system (from the STFAP re-bracketting of the students). That is why we continually call for the exploration and later implementation of a lower flat rate tuition in the University because it is actually feasible.

USCC: UP has certain measures on disaster preparedness like seminars and related activities. What it lacks is post-disaster preparedness.

It's been more than two months after the typhoon struck yet the rehabilitation plan for UP Tacloban and UP Palo is so delayed. Demands of the UP students and faculty affected by the typhoon are still being lobbied with the BoR through Tindog Network (Network of Families, Friends and Supporters of the Survivors of Typhoon Yolanda), but the Board has not answered the demands yet. The UP General Assembly of Student Councils has also drafted a resolution to be presented by the student regent in the next BoR meeting.

Q. What are the current policies and management issues on disasters that may be useful for UP and other SUCs? SR: Aside from consolidating the efforts of the administration and other sectors of the UP community to call for relief operations, we should also come up with long-term solutions in order to assist those who were affected by the typhoon (ex. immediately exempt them from paying the high cost of tuition, provide free lodging in the dorms, etc.)

USCC: This is an ongoing study by the USC that is yet to be explored.

-------------------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.

But the neighborhood surrounding UP Tacloban, sustained considerable damage.

"The biggest damage really was to the light structures: nipa huts and the other shanties that were located near the water in Barangay San Jose. Inside the city also, there were houses na medyo light construction and these were damaged too." The ground floor, emergency room and other facilities of the nearby Eastern Visayas Medical Center was also inundated, but the Center was able to continue providing medical services after the initial onslaught.

The surrounding plaza and open areas at the Capitol were already being used by the MMDA and other agencies as staging areas for relief work.

Palo Silvestre, Tomeldan, Berse, Antonio and Mata then made their way to Palo on their borrowed vehicle. And from the get-go, Silvestre noticed that they were dealing with a different kind of destruction.

The town proper of Palo, and the UP School of Health Sciences, had been spared the impact of the storm surge, being on higher ground and some distance from the coastline. The extensive damage was wrought by Yolanda's up to 315 km/h winds.

"Many of the roofs (in the town) were blown off," Silvestre remarked.

The old Japanese-era main building of the School of Health Sciences likewise had its roof ripped off. Bad as that sounded, that was not even the worst of it.

Unlike the Tacloban campus, whose structures could be repaired back to full functionality, some buildings of the School of Health Sciences suffered a harsher fate. The main building had two adjacent one-storey structures. "The one on the back collapsed," said Silvestre. "And this was a reinforced concrete hollow block building… from the winds."

From the team's findings, it was likely that the winds took the roof —which was a steel roof—and as it was torn from the building, the walls came down with it. After climbing a nearby hill, the team confirmed the impression that the type of damage for the entire town conformed to the pattern. The roof of the Cathedral of Palo was blown off in similar fashion, while many lighter structures were swept away.

Forensic Hearing Silvestre speak, it became clear the act of assessment, even from an architectural and planning

UP CWS, we launched the campaign called 'Commit to Rebuild' on our 25th anniversary last December. We want people to know that beyond the 'heroic phase,' we need to be steady and committed to rebuilding the UP campuses in Palo, Leyte and Tacloban, and see the rebuilding of storm-ravaged areas, in general," she said.

"It's really a good chance to make things better, for what we're going to build. There are so many things that can be done," concluded Claudio.

-------------------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.

perspective, differed very little from the assessment of a crime scene. For any competent investigator, part of the job is the reconstruction of the "whys" and the "hows" of a specific case from the evidence in order to move forward.

"It's different when you see the forensic evidence for yourself," he said.

"When we say forensic evidence... it means to literally see the debris, to see how the structures collapsed.

That sort of thing."

"A structural engineer or an architect, for instance like me, will look at the structure. And if it was able to withstand that level of wind and storm surge without collapsing or failing, wala namang columns na nag-collapse, wala namang walls na nag-collapse, like at least in UP Tacloban—the initial assessment would be that the structure is reasonably sound."

If, however, they saw cracks on the columns or beams, or if the walls themselves were blown down, that would be a different story. The building would then be subjected to further tests to assess its integrity. These would include various structural tests and evaluations of the building, doing checks on the structural steel frames and assessing, among other things, if there was a movement or displacement of the columns, beams and other structural elements.

If a building is compromised, there are two recourses depending on the severity of the damage. "Sometimes you may see a large crack but if there is no deflection, you can use various techniques like epoxy grouting to repair the cracks and it will be essentially good as new," he said. But in cases that are beyond repair, the only recourse is to declare the building unfit for habitation, and possibly condemning it.

"Mayroong ganoon sa School of Health Sciences. That one building that collapsed... it’s gone."

Rebuilding When they returned to Diliman, the team began the process of helping both campuses and the region back to their feet. And from all indications, 2014 will be a busy year for all of them.

Because of the aggravated damage from both the winds and the storm surge, Lagmay and his Project NOAH team are already hard at work making more detailed hazard maps for the whole of Leyte. Silvestre and company, on the other hand, were already ordered by President Pascual to prepare the master plan for a campus on a potentially safer site.

Unknown to many, the aforemencontinued on page 15

12 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 Photos from the UP Baguio Office of Public Affairs

UP Baguio’s Immediate and Long-Term Response to the Aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda Victoria R. Costina

U

P Baguio joined the rest of the country (and the world) in helping Yolanda victims in every way possible. Relief operations were immediately put in place primarily to receive donations of food, clothes, blankets, children’s books and toys, in addition to cash.

For at least three weeks after the typhoon donations poured in generously, courtesy of UP Baguio constituents, alumni, and other friends. Most of the donations were repacked and sent via trucks to the UP Diliman center for relief operations, while others were sent through Baguio community relief organizers who also made trips to Tacloban and other places in the Visayas.

In addition, UP Baguio also took in two students from UP Visayas so they can continue their studies: Baby June Cabacang and Gemmie Lyn Navarro, both in the BA Social Sciences program. Cabacang is a sophomore majoring in political science, and hails from Barangay Can-avid, Eastern Samar. Navarro, on the other hand, is a 4th year student majoring in psychology. She is from Barangay Caloglog, Tanauan, Leyte.

UP Baguio is also promoting disaster risk reduction and mitigation, as well as disaster preparedness and response. From January 13 to 15, UP Baguio hosted an orientation workshop entitled “Sakunang Darating, Saklolo’y Tayo Rin,” UP Padayon DRRM Orientation Course for the University. The course oriented constituents of each autonomous university on a variety of topics including disaster risk reduction and management principles, geohazard assessment of building structures, emergency response, proactive management of the muster area for evacuation, safe spaces, evacuation plans and drills, etc.

Among the speakers for this workshop were UP Padayon Coordinator Dr. Ferdinand Llanes, Prof. Dymphna Javier, Engr. Maricar Rabonza, Dr. Jesusa Catabui, Dr. Leticia Tojos, Dr. Maria Leonora Francisco, Lynne Brasileño, Dr. April Llaneta, Dr. Carlos Primero Gundran, Rodolfo Suyat, Prof. Victor Obedicen, and Prof.

Rosalie Quilicol.

To better improve disaster preparedness in the long term, all barangay captains of Baguio and Benguet will also gather in UP Baguio before April this year to develop a common response to disasters in their areas. The gathering will be sponsored by UP Baguio and the Knowledge and Training Resource Center for Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction (KTRC). UP Baguio likewise continues to support the campaign for the Balili River System Revitalization. It is a member of the Coalition.

UP Baguio is also continuing to implement its Green Campus Policy. This includes the preservation of the present tree cover on campus and the implementation of a master suite development plan in development projects on campus.

Environmentalism is integrated in all curricular programs and proposals, including the propagation of plant and animal species in natural science classes. For campus operations, these are some of the directives: the use of low energy and high efficacy lighting, retrofitting of electrical layout, systematization of rain harvesting, reduction of paper consumption through the digitization of institutional archives, strict implementation of the smoke/alcohol/drug-free campus policy, and solid waste segregation and reduction.

-------------------Professor Costina is director of UP Baguio’s Office of Public Affairs. Email her at victoriacosti@yahoo.com.

Top photo: Members of the UP Baguio community participate in a DRRM Orientation Course. Photo 2nd from top: Book donations from UP Baguio constituents for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda. Photo on bottom left: UP Baguio's two adopted UPV students, Baby June Cabacang (left) and Gemmie Lyn Navarro (right). Photo on bottom right: Visitors from the UN World Food Programme (UN-WFP) and US Agency for International Development (USAID) visit the KTRC at the Cordillera Center. From the UN-WFP: Onuora Daniels, Disaster Preparedness and Response Programme Director; and Joseph Alviar, Field Monitor for Benguet. From USAID: Ben Hemingway, Regional Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific, USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/ OFDA); and George Siasoco, Disaster Operations Specialist, Washington D.C. Metro Area, USAID/OFDA.

Photos from the UP Baguio Office of Public Affairs

UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 13

UPOU Disaster Risk Management MOOC in the Pipeline Arlyn VCD Palisoc Romualdo

T

he UP Open University (UPOU) has been planning for the development of a massive open online course (MOOC) on disaster risk management even before Typhoon Yolanda devastated central Philippines.

According to Prof. Primo Garcia, UPOU Information Office director, the "Yolanda experience" has reiterated the need for a more concerted and proactive approach to natural disaster management.

This is why the planned MOOC will be offered for free so that it can equip more individuals and institutions in meeting and overcoming challenges in disaster management.

Apart from this, UPOU's response to the typhoon's aftermath started last 13 November 2013, when the Faculty of Management and Development Studies launched a donation drive. The donations in kind were handed to the UP System for distribution to those affected in Tacloban, Leyte.

Photo from the UPOU Information Office

The UPOU launches a donation drive for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda.

community. Linking up with the UP System, UPOUFI, and WeDpro, Inc. helped facilitate the transmission and distribution of relief goods on the ground. As a borderless campus, it was able to tap the support of its students

Photo from the UPOU Information Office

ence has shown that university extension programs need not be complicated, top-heavy initiatives. Encouraging the public to help in the university's relief efforts must be complemented by engaging members of its own university community to participate in these activities.

"Public service is basically a culture," he said. "It cannot be sustained unless the university as a whole feels it has a stake in it. [Public service] can only be achieved if everyone in the university can find a role in its implementation."

Finally, Garcia emphasized how, in this day and age, social media plays an important role in organizing develop-

The UPOU General Assembly holding another donation drive in December.

On 13 December 2013, another donation drive was undertaken during the UPOU General Assembly. This time, employees gave school supplies, toys, and other items for the affected children in the area. These were sent to target communities through WeDpro, Inc., a non-profit collective in the Philippines that works in the area of human rights through gender responsive development programs, and of which a UPOU faculty is a board member.

In addition, Garcia told the UP Forum on 13 January that UPOU, in cooperation with UPOU Foundation, Inc. (UPOUFI), was able to raise almost P70,000 in cash donations from its constituents.

The funds will be used to help some families in their recovery and rehabilitation from the calamity.

UPOU credits the success of their relief efforts to institutional partnerships and to its worldwide

from all over the country and the world. In fact, a substantial amount of donations came from students based abroad. UPOU relied more on social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to inform its constituents about the relief efforts.

Garcia noted that the UPOU experi-

ment initiatives. "UPOU is in a good position not only to adopt these media [in seeking] support for public service efforts but also to do empirical work on social media-driven networks for development."

---------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.

Photo from the UPOU Information Office

14 UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014

Salient Points of Republic Act 10121 or the Philipp and Risk Reduction Management Act of 2010 Sec. 5 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

XXX The National Council shall be headed by the Secretary of the Department of National Defense (DND) as Chairperson with the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as Vice Chairperson for Disaster Preparedness, the Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as Vice Chairperson for Disaster Response, the Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as Vice Chairperson for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, and the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) as Vice Chairperson for Disaster Rehabilitation and Recovery.

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SEC. 10. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Organization at the Regional Level.

The current Regional Disaster Coordinating Councils shall henceforth be known as the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (RDRRMCs) which shall coordinate, integrate, supervise, and evaluate the activities of the LDRRMCs. The RDRRMC shall be responsible in ensuring disaster sensitive regional development plans, and in case of emergencies shall convene the different regional line agencies and concerned institutions and authorities.

The RDRRMCs shall establish an operating facility to be known as the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (RDRRMOC) whenever necessary.

The civil defense officers of the OCD who are or may be designated as Regional Directors of the OCD shall serve as chairpersons of the RDRRMCs. Its Vice Chairpersons shall be the Regional Directors of the DSWD, the DILG, the DOST, and the NEDA. In the case of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Regional Governor shall be the RDRRMC Chairperson. The existing regional offices of the OCD shall serve as secretariat of the RDRRMCs. The RDRRMCs shall be composed of the executives of regional offices and field stations at the regional level of the government agencies.

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SEC. 11. Organization at the Local Government Level.

The existing Provincial, City, and Municipal Disaster Coordinating Councils shall henceforth be known as the Provincial, City, and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils. The Barangay Disaster Coordinating Councils shall cease to exist and its powers and functions shall henceforth be assumed by the existing Barangay Development Councils (BDCs) which shall serve as the LDRRMCs in every barangay. (a) Composition: The LDRRMC shall be composed of, but not limited to, the following: (1) The Local Chief Executives, Chairperson; (2) The Local Planning and Development Officer, member; (3) The Head of the LDRRMO, member; (4) The Head of the Local Social Welfare and Development Office, member; (5) The Head of the Local Health Office, member; (6) The Head of the Local Agriculture Office, member; (7) The Head of the Gender and Development Office, member; (8) The Head of the Local Engineering Office, member; (9) The Head of the Local Veterinary Office, member; (10) The Head of the Local Budget Office, member; (11) The Division Head/Superintendent of Schools of the DepED, member; (12) The highest-ranking officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assigned in the area, member; (13) The Provincial Director/City/Municipal Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), member; (14) The Provincial Director/City/ Municipal Fire Marshall of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), member; (15) The President of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), member; (16) The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC), member; (17) Four (4) accredited CSOs, members; and (18) One (1) private sector representative, member. (b) The LDRRMCs shall have the following functions: (1) Approve, monitor and evaluate the implementation of the LDRRMPs and regularly review and test the plan consistent with other national and local planning programs; (2) Ensure the integration of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into local development plans, programs and budgets as a strategy in sustainable development and poverty reduction; (3) Recommend the implementation of forced or preemptive evacuation of local residents, if necessary; and (4) Convene the local council once every three (3) months or as necessary.

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SEC. 6. Powers and Functions of the NDRRMC. The National Council, being empowered with policy-making, coordination, integration, supervision, monitoring and evaluation functions, shall have the following responsibilities: (a) Develop a NDRRMF which shall provide for a comprehensive, all-hazards, multi-sectoral, inter-agency and community-based approach to disaster risk reduction and management. The Framework shall serve as the principal guide to disaster risk reduction and management efforts in the country and shall be reviewed on a five(5)-year interval, or as may be deemed necessary, in order to ensure its relevance to the times; (b) Ensure that the NDRRMP is consistent with the NDRRMF; (c) Advise the President on the status of (disaster preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response and rehabilitation operations being undertaken by the government, CSOs, private sector, and volunteers; recommend to the President the declaration of a state of calamity in areas extensively damaged; and submit proposals to restore normalcy in the affected areas, to include calamity fund allocation; (d) Ensure a multi-stakeholder participation in the development, updating, and sharing of a Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Information System and Geographic Information System-based national risk map as policy, planning and decision-making tools; (e) Establish a national early warning and emergency alert system to provide accurate and timely advice to national or local emergency response organizations and to the general public through diverse mass media to include digital and analog broadcast, cable, satellite television and radio, wireless communications, and landline communications; (f) Develop appropriate risk transfer mechanisms that shall guarantee social and economic protection and increase resiliency in the face of disaster; (g) Monitor the development and enforcement by agencies and organizations of the various laws, guidelines, codes or technical standards required by this Act; XXX

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SEC. 12. Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (LDRRMO). (a) There shall be established an LDRRMO in every province, city and municipality, and a Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC) in every barangay which shall be responsible for setting the direction, development, implementation and coordination of disaster risk management programs within their territorial jurisdiction. (b) The LDRRMO shall be under the office of the governor, city or municipal mayor, and the punong barangay in case of the BDRRMC. The LDRRMOs shall be initially organized and composed of a DRRMO to be assisted by three (3) staff responsible for: (1) administration and training; (2) research and planning; and (3) operations and warning. The LDRRMOs and the BDRRMCs shall organize, train and directly supervise the local emergency response teams and the ACDVs. XXX

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SEC. 16. Declaration of State of Calamity.

The National Council shall recommend to the President of the Philippines the declaration of a cluster of barangays, municipalities, cities, provinces, and regions under a state of calamity, and the lifting thereof, based on the criteria set by the National Council. The President's declaration may warrant international humanitarian assistance as deemed necessary.

The declaration and lifting of the state of calamity may also be issued by the local sanggunian, upon the recommendation of the LDRRMC, based on the results of the damage assessment and needs anaysis.

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UP FORUM Volume 15 No. 1 January-February 2014 15

pine Disaster

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SEC. 17. Remedial Measures.

The declaration of a state of calamity shall make mandatory the

immediate undertaking of the following remedial measures by the memberagencies concerned as defined in this Act: (a) Imposition of price ceiling on basic necessities and prime commodities by the President upon the recommendation of the implementing agency as provided for under Republic Act No. 7581, otherwise known as the "Price Act", or the National Price Coordinating Council; (b) Monitoring, prevention and control by the Local Price Coordination Council of overpricing/profiteering and hoarding of prime commodities, medicines and petroleum products; (c) Programming/reprogramming of funds for the repair and safety upgrading of public infrastructures and facilities; and (d) Granting of no-interest loans by government financing or lending institutions to the most affected section of the population through their cooperatives or people's organizations.

SEC. 18. Mechanism for International Humanitarian Assistance. (a) The importation and donation of food, clothing, medicine and equipment for relief and recovery and other disaster management and recovery-related supplies is hereby authorized in accordance with Section 105 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as amended, and the prevailing provisions of the General Appropriations Act covering national internal revenue taxes and import duties of national and local government agencies; and (b) Importations and donations under this section shall be considered as importation by andlor donation to the NDRRMC, subject to the approval of the Office of the President.

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AFTER THE STORM... continued from page 11 tioned 113-ha. site in Barangay Sta. Elena lies about 24-25 kilometers north of the city of Tacloban, and is owned by UP. Silvestre said that its location at the narrow end between Tacloban and Samar, and its location on higher terrain away from the coastline could make it less susceptible to a future storm surge. To be on the safe side, however, Dr. Lagmay's team will undertake a more detailed hazard mapping of the site prior to detailed planning.

If things pan out, it could possibly be the new home not only of UP Tacloban, but also the School of Health Sciences.

Silvestre noted that President Pascual had already made an offer of assistance to Mayor Alfred Romualdez of Tacloban not only in terms of planning, but also to make the future campus a nucleus of development. This phenomenon may effectively move part of the city out of its currently vulnerable location.

"There is a good possibility that in the same way when UP moved from Padre Faura to Diliman, and much of Quezon City sort of grew around Diliman, that something like that could also happen there."

"We still keep the campus in the city, kasi atin na iyon, UP owns the land and the facilities," he said. "You could still operate an urban campus like UP Manila. But at least we know that in case of another occurrence, there is a refuge that we can evacuate our students and faculty to."

That, for Silvestre, is the long-term goal.

The short-term, of course, involves rehabilitation. At the time of this writing, Silvestre and the rest of the team are scheduled to meet with Deans Salvador Isidro Destura and Anita G. Cular of the SHS and UP Tacloban, respectively. Both played a major role in assisting the team's first expedition. And their inputs will provide the bedrock upon which the team will construct the future of both schools.

"What we’ll do is to rehabilitate UP Tacloban, to ensure that over the next 3-5 years while we’re developing the new site, it continues operation, Silvestre said. "And to do whatever we can do to, should (the disaster) occur again and it probably will, mitigate further damage."

While the team awaits a meeting with the two deans and UPV Chancellor Rommel Espinosa, the undergraduate students of both Silvestre and Tomeldan are already doing initial work on the new campus. "By the end of the semester we’ll probably have some output in relation to that." Meeting both deans is crucial, Silvestre said however, to determine the long-term vision of both and complete the master plan along those lines.

Parallel to this, Silvestre and the rest of the team are also looking forward to uniting with the rest of the university in training local government units to effectively manage future disasters. Through Vice President De Vera's office, they received a request to assist the municipality of Barugo in Leyte.

"We’re thinking of using this as a case study—developing a framework of assistance that UP can offer including primarily training. So we can assist our local government units to plan for disasters."

He described it as a multidisciplinary effort—including not just architects and engineers, but experts from the School of Urban and Regional Planning, the National Institute of Geological Sciences via Project NOAH, the NCPAG and other units providing organizational and psychosocial support.

"That will probably be something that will keep us busy initially for the next year, possibly longer as the rehab and development work begins."

The Takeaway Despite these developments, one final issue remained on the table.

This, perhaps, was the most important of all. Given the extent of the devastation in the Visayas and the increasingly violent spate of natural disasters this past year, a disturbing question still persists for both the university and the country.

What if it happens again?

"I had a very interesting discussion with Mahar and the rest of the group, while we were having our dinner of canned goods," Silvestre said. "We were already saying ‘what if a catastrophe like this or a magnitude 7+ earthquake like the one that hit Bohol… what would happen if it hits Manila, and what would happen to UP Diliman?"

The initially light-hearted discussion had taken a turn for the unsettling. The gravity of the matter was punctuated by the eerie darkness of the Tacloban campus.

Silvestre said that at least for UP, there is a need to reassess all of its campuses and upgrade them to provide for the safety of its faculty, students and staff. "We also have to make an assumption that the UP Campus will be a haven and a refuge also of the other victims of the calamity." He foresees that UP's buildings and their classrooms will likely be converted into relief centers.

And he believes that the Leyte experience provides clues as to how this can be managed.

"Perhaps the health facilities in all our campuses should be geared towards at least offering part of the required emergency health services should something like this occur," he said. Though UP does have welltrained and dedicated professionals to address such disasters, keeping them safe and in a position to assist is vital for an effective response.

"The need for energy has to be addressed," he continues. "You can’t rely on the grid, so I think we need to consider alternative sources of energy." Despite having a generator set, he said that it took about two weeks before a relatively stable supply of fuel could be brought to Tacloban because many of the service stations were inundated.

"By the time they were partially restored, they were selling diesel for 200-300 pesos a liter. So even if you have the genset, if you don’t have the diesel to run it you still won’t have electricity."

Clean, potable water is another thing UP should be able to supply.

Silvestre said there is a pressing need to address the supply of potable water, at the very least a means to gather and recycle rainwater as well as more advanced water management systems.

"In those days people in Tacloban were even taking a bath in the rain.

Collecting rainwater, filtering it through whatever they had, like clothes and boiling it to purify it. So we’ve got to be able to develop those systems."

Finally, a united effort involving the entire UP community—scientists, engineers, social scientists and artists—can work in tandem with agencies such as the Climate Change Commission on vital initiatives. This is a more proactive approach in addressing a scenario that has left so many powerless. UP has already entered into an MOU with the Climate Change Commission precisely for this effort.

"We’re already starting it," Silvestre said. "But we’ve got to provide the kind of services and academic output needed to help put our country in a position to be safe when something like this happens again.

"And it will happen again."

-------------------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.

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TYPHOON-TOUGHENED UPM-SHS BUILDING... continued from page 1

Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc for bringing primary health care to thousands of poor people.

But barely three months after being ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda last November 8, the UP Manila School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte is set to resume classes, according to UP Manila Chancellor Manuel Agulto.

The campus can thus continue its unique role in the country of educating students, funded by their own communities in the hinterlands, as health professionals in the service of the communities that sponsored them. Students of SHS can begin studying and practicing as midwives and can even end up as doctors of medicine through SHS's ladderized education system.

The resumption of school operations comes not only with a significant realization of the need to build better. But also with a heightened appreciation of the need for SHS, which had been undergoing expansion in recent years, to serve more communities.

SHS buildings will have to do better than the old one built in the 1970s at Palo, Leyte, which suffered extensive structural damage. Portions of the campus need to be either relocated or constructed anew.

Although there were no reported casualties except for one alumnus of the school, classes had to be suspended.

The structural damage meant severe damage to equipment and records.

Walls and ceilings cracked open by wind and water also brought the possibility of exposure to asbestos, as the two-story building built in the 1970s might have had this toxic material. UP is now coordinating efforts to ascertain this possibility and planning for proper clean up of the now-banned substance, according to Chancellor Agulto.

In the meantime, the staff has been reporting on a half-day basis to retrieve records and to ensure the smooth resumption of school operations.

Help is coming from donors such as Tzu Chi and Sagip Kapamilya. In coordination with UP Photos by Athena de Paz

Visayas, temporary classroom facilities are being set up. UPM and UPV are also coordinating the construction of new facilities in a six-hectare site in Sta. Elena, located further upland.

"The development of a six-hectare property of UP at Sta. Elena for the School of Health Sciences was included in our budget proposal last year supposedly for 2014, as even then, we were cognizant of the need for expanding this unique ladderized Health Sciences education," Agulto told the UP FORUM. The expansion of the SHS, which also has campuses in Baler and Koronadal, is part of the UP Manila Strategic Plan, along with national networking and being a contributor to

the Philippine Development Plan.

Yolanda has compelled the UP Manila administration to prioritize better infrastructure. "In disaster-prone areas like Tacloban, 'super-typhoon'and earthquake-proof buildings are a must," Agulto said.

In this light, UPM needs the UP System to help source expertise in planning the new campus in Sta. Elena. It would also appreciate funds necessary to jumpstart site development and construction.

"We need the UP System to help us build the support system for sustaining the academic and unique communityoriented health sciences education offered as a national and global model," Agulto said, referring to the exemplary program of SHS to build health manpower in remote areas. It is UP's own brainchild, whose success has led to the building of two more SHS campuses in Baler, Aurora and Koronadal, South Cotabato.

This strategy has also been used by several community-based health training programs worldwide.

-------------------Email the author at forum@upd.edu.ph.