Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region XII
Division of Sarangani

Alabel National High School

_______________________________________________________________

The Preparedness of Students

from Alabel National High School on Earthquakes

A research proposal presented to

Mrs. Annson Joy Vergara-Villacampa
RCrim. MSCrim, LPT. CCS. CSS., J.D

In partial fulfilment of the

Requirement for Practical Research 1
Of Senior High School of ANHS
SY 2019-2020

Joshua V. Baguio
Reymart John Burlas
Lady Jean Lee
Melchor Castilla
Philip Jay Sabado
Leah Timon
Ramel Depala
 March 2020

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Introductory Paragraph

Earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip the past one

another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below

the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the

location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called epicenter (Lisa Wald,

2020). The primary effects of earthquakes are ground shaking, ground rupture,

landslides, tsunamis, and liquefaction. Fires are probably the single most important

secondary effect of earthquakes.

According to the National Disaster Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), 7

died following the 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Davao Del Sur Province, Mindanao on

15 December. 48 people are injured, 9,565 are housed in13 temporary evacuation

centers and 9,755 have been affected. At least 55 public buildings, 11 schools and 14

bridges have been damaged. There have been as many as 556 aftershocks, 55 of

which were felt by the local population. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and

Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has issued a severe flood advisory for

south-east Mindanao (including Davao Del Sur Province), with rain and thunderstorms

expected over the next 24 hours.

Nowadays, the Philippines experienced a lot of natural calamities such as earthquake,

weather disturbances, and volcanic eruption. And, one of the most talked about issue is

the earthquake struck in Mindanao area, where a lot of structures, livelihood, and

properties ruined. A lot of people harm/suffer and facing distress.

In present time, everyone should be aware and prepared for this kind of natural

calamity. Whereas, the government is always ready to response in different situation

and responsible of educating the people in the county of how to be prepared in every

disaster might happen.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to educate the students of how they will be aware of preventing from

being harm in an earthquake situation that might happened in the future.

The Preparedness of Students from Alabel National High School on Earthquakes

This research aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the importance of being prepared in an earthquake situation?

2. What are the safety measure to prevent being harm in an earthquake situation?

3. How to be aware and knowledgeable about earthquakes?

Purpose of the Study

This study aims to spread awareness to all students in Alabel National High School in

an earthquake calamity that might happen in the future. To know the importance of

being knowledgeable of things to do if earthquake struck. And lastly, to give more

convenient and effective way of preventing harm in an earthquake situation.

Review of Related Literature

 Earthquake

An earthquake is weak to violent shaking of the ground produced by the sudden

movement of rock materials below the earth’s surface. The earthquakes originate in

tectonic plate boundary. The focus is point inside the earth where the earthquake

started, sometimes called the hypocenter, and the point on the surface of the surface of

the earth directly above the focus is called epicenter (PHIVOLC, 2019).

Measures the Strength of an Earthquake

Magnitude

Magnitude is proportional to the energy released by an earthquake at the focus. It is

calculated from earthquake recorded by an instrument called seismograph. It is

presented by Arabic Numbers (e.g. 4.8, 9.0).

Intensity

Intensity is generally higher near the epicenter. It is represented by Roman

Numerals (e.g. II, IV, IX). In the Philippines, the intensity of an earthquake is determined

using the PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS).

Type of Earthquake
 There are two types of Earthquakes: Tectonic and Volcanic Earthquakes. Tectonic

Earthquake are produced by sudden movement along faults and plate boundaries.

Earthquakes induced by rising lava or magma beneath active volcanoes is called

volcanic earthquakes.

Earthquake Safety Tips

Earthquakes regularly rattle our planet, striking somewhere in the world every hour

of everyday. Such events are the results of the slow-motion march of tectonic plates

that build stresses in Earth’s crust and mantle. Eventually the stress hits a breaking

point and releases in a ground-shaking quake that can send blocks of the Earth

careening of place.

Before the Quake

One important way to prepare for a temblor is to try to make your home as safe as

possible. Take a tour of each room to look for things that could fall or break if the ground

starts to wobble and while you’re at it, check out the connection of gas appliances; it’s

best if these are flexible rather than rigid so they can bend with the rolling ground.

Lastly, assemble an earthquake emergency kit that includes food, water, and other

supplies for atleast 72 hours.

When the Shaking Starts

 Protect yourself as quickly as possible. In many situations that means

remembering three actions; drop, cover, and hold.

After the Shaking Subsides

Even after the ground grows still, the danger is not necessarily over. As the Earth

settles from its trembling it can produce a series of smaller quakes known as

aftershocks. On rare occasions, a second earthquake that’s even bigger than the first

might follow. When that happens, the first quake is called a foreshock, and the second

tremblor is called a main shock.

Alabel National High School

ANHS is located at the Municipality of Alabel, Province of Sarangani. The school

land area was estimated to be 2 hectares with a 3000 number students studying for

their future. It is one of the most populated high school in the municipality and most of

the students are working hard for their future. A competitive school with competitive

students as well.

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology

PHIVOLCS is a service institute of the DOST for monitoring and mitigation of

volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunami. It gives warning and alert messages to

the people of this country, for them to be aware of the calamities happening in the

surroundings. Additionally, they provide updates for recent happenings of land shaking
and volcanic activities. People working in PHIVOLCS are really giving a lot of help to

provide in the community for them to be aware and alert in any situations.

According to a joint study participated in by Dr. Doracie B. Zoleta-Nantes in 2004 (pre-

Hyogo Framework for Action World Conference), there are different types of approach

in the scientific research of hazard-related human behaviors. One such approach

mentioned has directly associated disaster preparedness with age-related demographic

variables (e.g., age, civil status), socio-economic related demographic variables (e.g.,

highest educational attainment, income, home ownership) and psycho-social-behavioral

variables (e.g., training, risk assessment).

This categorically puts this thesis in a position of credibility. Like the matter of risk

perception briefly implied in the earlier portion of this study, it validated the direct

relationship between the socio-demographic profiles of the respondents.

This lead premise serves as a link chain which now connects the study of human

behavior in terms of preparation to a disaster by both as individual person and as

member of an organization. For instance, the individual behavior to disaster

preparedness of the barangay constituents as respondents and the organizational

behavior to the same variable of the BDRRMC as another group of responses.

The interdependent activities initiated by these abovementioned human behaviors are

then developed and categorized as belonging to one of the different schools of thought

in management (Zulueta, F.M., De Lara, G.M.C., and Nebres, A.M., 1999). This is an

essential linkage since the researchers are evaluating the implementation of R.A. No.

10121 in Barangay 649 while keeping in sync how the law provides that disaster

preparedness be carried out within the context of disaster management. Thus, it is clear

that the study of disasters and disaster preparedness also requires a grasp of basic

management concepts and principles.

In being so, the researchers observed that disaster preparedness belongs to the social

systems school of management (Zulueta, et. al, 1999). This school views management

as a “social system” and considers the organization as a social organism which is

subject to pressures and conflicts coming from the social environment. Its doctrines,

Zulueta & company continued, include the concepts of cooperation, adaptation,

segregation and differentiation. Cooperation is the primary thrust in the organization of

the social systems school where people work together for a common good.

This, in effect, validates the two elements of a disaster risk, vulnerability and capacity,

as having social aspects (Lomerio-Ondiz, R. Ph. D. & Redito, B.M., 2009).

For Martires, C.R. (2011), a social system is “a complex and dynamic set of

relationships among its actors interacting with one another.” Thus, R.A. No. 10121
acknowledges the need to “adopt a disaster risk reduction and management approach

that is holistic, comprehensive, integrated and proactive in lessening the socio-

economic and environmental impacts of disasters including climate change, and

promote the involvement and participation of all sectors and all stakeholders concerned,

at all levels, especially the local community.” Disaster preparedness, aside from being a

multilevel system (global, regional, national, community, individual), becomes also multi-

relational (physical, social, economic, environmental). Within the social system of the

community, there are still various subsystems interdependent with each other.

On the other hand, Tomas D. Andres (1992) pointed out that teambuilding is an

advantageous approach to the complex task of disaster preparation. He believed that

“the best results are obtained when people work together with a sense of commitment

to one another as well as to the organization.” His approach is similar to the social

system model since he defined a team as organic – made up of components in the

person of its members, but these come together to form a cohesive whole which is

greater than the sum of its parts. It is also interdependent. Each member supports each

other. Andres (1992) concluded that if the team succeeds, they all succeed; if it fails,

they all fail.

He also emphasized that, in taking teambuilding as a management approach, one must

be concerned with the innate social values each and every member has in order to

minimize their input of efforts while maximizing their output of productivity. This, of
course, is equally and generally important to disaster management in terms of efficiency

and to disaster preparedness, in particular. According to him, the Filipino is an expert in

human relationships. He can create systems to make relationships serve his purpose.

The works of F. Landa Jocano, Jaime Bulatao, Lourdes R. Quisumbing and Ma.

Leonora V. De Jesus on Filipino values (Martires, C.R., 2011) provide management

some insights that will help them understand why Filipinos think, feel, act and perform in

certain ways. This, in turn, would help us understand the resilience of Filipino urban

communities in terms of disaster risk reduction.

Manageability, Lomerio-Ondiz & Redito continued, is the degree to which a community

can intervene and manage a hazard.

Meanwhile, the two explained that assessment is a critical examination and estimation

of the object or phenomenon (Bernhat, 1987). It is a process of collecting, interpreting

and analyzing information from various sources.

The duo pointed out that risk assessment is the systematic and logical process used to

determine disaster risk reduction priorities by evaluating and comparing the levels of

risk (high or intolerable, medium or tolerable, low or minimal). This comprises the

process by which individuals, communities and societies cope with hazards. Disaster
risk assessment deals with the Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (HVCA)

and people’s perceptions of risks. The researchers have already slightly touched on

HVCA in Chapter I. The implication that is observed by the two DRRM analysts is that

disaster risk will be based on people’s perception. Thus, they will be the one to make

decisions to adapt, to modify or to ignore the risk.

The researchers of this study concluded that community risk assessment is of major

importance to the design of disaster preparedness the concerned organization will plan

and undertake.

In contingency planning, Lomerio-Ondiz & Redito averred that advanced planning and

execution is the key to protection. They offered some tips to follow, such as, but not

limited to:

a. Knowledge of barangay disaster plan.

b. Posting of hazard/risk map.

c. Access to updated information on the daily weather advisory.

d. Understanding of Early Warning Signals (EWS), such as the Public Storm

Warning Signal (PSWS).

e. The dissemination strategy of standard warning information.

f. Designation of evacuation for families & livestock.

g. Inspection of evacuation routes and protecting them with sandbags, if possible,

and signage to ensure safe passage to the camp.

h. The availability and accessibility to emergency response equipment as well as

trained volunteers with a prepared search and rescue plan.

i. A community protection plan for potable water supply sources.

j. The cleaning and unclogging of drainages through people’s cooperation and initiative.

k. Inspection and preparation of a Survival Kit, and re-supply if necessary.

l. Ensuring that each family member understands the danger of a disaster and it

associated risks.

The three (3) main objectives of warnings are (Lomerio-Ondiz & Redito, 2009):

1. To inform, advise and instruct the population of the impending threat.

2. To call those in the danger areas for action by explaining precautionary

measures that should be taken by the families, and,

3. To be alert, prepared, and stand by for possible worse events.

The communication system of disaster preparedness is likened to the human circulatory

system with regards to the role it plays in contingency planning. Within the

communication structure, the researchers find such activities as coordinating and

facilitating all the available resources to its priority users in a timely and appropriate

manner. Also, the system unifies the chain of command necessary to the entire disaster

management cycle of prevention, mitigation and adaptation; alertness and

preparedness; response; and recovery.

Filipino values also affect the communication process, especially in disaster

preparedness. Martires, C.R. (2011) explains that one’s need to belong to a group is

stronger than the need to assert one’s individual identity. This is reflected in behavior

that shows pakikisama (togetherness), smooth interpersonal relationship (SIR), tayo-

tayo (us and we-ness), and bayanihan (unity and cooperation). Using a go-between in

the communication process facilitates the transaction for a positive feedback. Herein

lies the value of community-based development project management in disaster

management. In the long run, communication may yet prove to be the enduring factor in

any study of disaster preparedness efficiency.

In the introduction to his book, Alwin B. De Leon, Ph. D. (2010) stated that community-

based development projects are participatory in nature. Thus, communication not only

serves as the lifeblood of the organization, it is also its major linkage to the

organization’s environment. This is the rationale for tapping the Civil Society

Organizations (CSOs) as regular members of the BDRRMC since they serve as the link

chain which brings about the necessary balance between the top-down and bottom-up

approach of managing community development plans and projects.

Finally, the management concept of leadership affects the triumvirate variables of

disaster preparedness, namely, contingency planning, communication system and

capacity-building. While contingency planning is considered in R.A. No. 10121 as a

distinct management process replete with its own set of concepts and principles, and

disaster communication is institutionalized as one of the powers and functions ((h),

Section 9 of the PDRRM Act of 2010) of the implementing arm of the NDRRMC, which

is, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), capacity involves collective attributes such as

social relationships, leadership and management. Flora Generalao (1984) of the

University of the Philippines (U.P.) conducted a study wherein she pitted task-oriented

leadership against relationship-oriented leadership relative to situational control in a

leadership contingency model. The results of the study showed that: democratic

leadership behavior elicits highest member satisfaction than autocratic leadership. This,

in turn, will reflect on the effectiveness and sustainability of contingency planning,

communication system and capacity-building in disaster preparedness.

In contrast, however, of the local literature the researchers have presented in this study,

the researchers opted to keep things in perspective and set the balance by presenting

not necessarily opposing viewpoints, but, rather, critical ones the researchers may later

on find significant to the research.

To begin with, Prof. Kenneth Cardenas (2010) of the U.P. Department of Sociology

deftly described the relationships which now exist in the so-called “culture of disasters.”

He said that adding to this complex tangle of social systems, social values, self-styled

management concepts and ecosystems, Filipinos are only beginning to learn the rules

of disaster risk reduction and management. Urban people, he reiterated, are less

sensitive to the ecosystems. Beyond that the researchers are not equipped to handle

the problems in urban areas because the researchers do not have any experience

dealing with them.

Dr. Rene N. Rollon (2010), Associate Professor and Director, Institute of Environmental

Science and Meteorology, U.P. Diliman, has a view on disaster preparedness which is

much more realistic. He averred that, on the management side, prevention is always an

ideal strategy. For instance, human settlements in coastal areas should be avoided

unless some aggressive measures are in place (high and expensive dikes, retaining

walls, etc.). Obviously, such incongruence between natural processes and the human

use of physical resources have been demonstrated on many occasions. Indeed,

especially for urban centers like Metro Manila, preventive measures (e.g. relocation, job

generation, easement areas, no settlement zones, etc.) may be very expensive.

However, the annual cost of lives and properties attributed to the “disrespect” for these

natural processes is not cheap either, and, is, in fact increasingly frustrating.
According to Fernando P. Siringan (2010), Ph. D. Professor, Maritime Science Institute,

U.P. Diliman, there are places that can be avoided, places where relocation might be

necessary, or places where mitigation for certain hazards may still be possible.

On the other hand, Dr. Minerva SD. Olympia (2010), Associate Professor and

Coordinator for Research College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, U.P. Visayas,

shares that risk reduction measures are community-specific. Countries with long

coastlines such as the Philippines are considered naturally high-risk since exposure and

vulnerabilities are high.

Dr. Guillermo Q. Tabios (2010), Professor, Institute of Civil Engineering, and Director,

National Hydraulic Research Center, U.P. Diliman, summarized the role the community

plays in disaster management related to preparedness, adaptation and mitigation.

He started by saying that there is a long list of what the community can do in disaster

management, especially in relation to preparedness, adaptation and mitigation. The

community should establish and organize planning and response teams during pre-

disaster and emergent post-disaster phases. A basic requirement is to develop

emergency or evacuation plans such as routes, protective shelters, and food provisions

in case of disaster. The multi-hazard maps in particular are very useful for this purpose.

With these disasters or emergency plans, communities can conduct periodic drills and
exercises for the safe evacuation of households, schools and commercial and industrial

establishments.

Tabios (2010) further explained that to ensure preparedness for the response phase of

disaster management, the community organization should also train and organize quick

response volunteer teams to provide rescue as well as logistic and psychosocial

support. For large scale community-based planning, long-term and sustainable

programs should be developed in partnership with the local government and even

private organizations to reduce poverty by providing affordable shelter, food, and water

for resettled or relocated communities to reduce their disaster vulnerability.

Communities frequently exposed to extreme climatic events and hazards can also

develop adaptation measures such as encouraging water management and waste

management practices that are resilient to climate extremes and hazards.

LOCAL RELATED STUDIES

1. There are no rules and regulations that guide the DOH (Department of Health), CHDNCR (City

Health Department-National Capital Region), and NCR Health Emergency network with regards

to when each agency should respond (aside from the general rule that all should respond when

LGUs request assistance)

2. The existing health emergency management system among the different agencies in NCR

needs a review to improve networking, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration.

FOREIGN LITERATURE

Core Indicator 1 – Strong policy, technical and institutional capacities and mechanisms for

disaster risk management, with a disaster risk reduction perspective are in place.

Core Indicator 2 – Disaster preparedness plans and contingency plans are in place at all

administrative levels, and regular training drills and rehearsals are held to test and develop

disaster response programmes.

Core Indicator 3 – Financial reserves and contingency mechanisms are in place to support

effective response and recovery when required.

Core Indicator 4 – Procedures are in place to exchange relevant information during hazard

events and disasters, and to undertake post-event reviews.