ABADEJOS, Alyanna Joyce S.

PORESIL
11841176
Critical Commentary 2: Theories of Resilience

Since its emergence in ecology and environmental studies, resilience theory has
also been used in other disciplines in the social sciences such as psychology, political
science, and behavioral studies (Breda, 2018; Fletcher & Sarkar, 2013). Nevertheless, it
has received criticism in those disciplines for being vague and counterproductive.
Olsson et al. (2015) cautioned against using the concept in politics and policy-making
as it may hinder development through its nature to resist against adversity and revert
back to its original form, regardless of whether that form was ideal or not. Another risk
was described by Meerow et al. (2015) wherein some policies which are good for short-
term, may not necessarily be beneficial in the long run.
Despite the criticisms, there may be potential for resilience theory in the realm of
politics and decision-making, albeit with a few caveats. The first factor to take into
account and remedy would be the vague definition of resilience. Like some argue, there
are many shades to the concept (Meerow et al., 2015; Southwick et al., 2014; Vuori,
2021). Whether the outcome should remain the same or be transformative, incremental
against punctual change, specific or general resilience – policy makers must keep these
in mind when forming new policies.
Resisting change may not be ideal for a situation that was never good in the first
place. An example would be that resilience may work against the poor (Olsson et al.,
2015); that is, as their resilience grows, the government finds it less of an issue and
focuses its resources on other things. Likewise, individual resilience may lead citizens to
merely accepting their fates, preventing them from listing valid concerns to their
representatives. In such a way, change is hard to come by. The outcome of their
resilience is static and non-transformative at a state wherein change would be
desirable. Hence, the importance of identifying the type of resilience that would be most
beneficial to the government’s targets.
 While some argue that the existence of resilience is inherent in every person,
that it’s a natural occurrence to adversities (Bonnano, 2017), the time it takes to
“bounce back” and in some cases, transform, can vary from person to person, from one
community to another. Breda (2018) used the term “patterns of resiliency” to categorize
places that may have experienced more natural disasters hence, needing less time to
bounce back from problems.
In the case of the Philippines, natural disasters are common with its geographic
location set as a disaster-prone country. Hence, Filipinos are considered to be more
resilient than others. Under Breda’s “pattern of resiliency”, citizens in the Philippines
should need less time to bounce back from natural disasters, but studies and interviews
with victims show something else – that it still takes a long period of time for those
affected to rebuild their homes, livelihood, and return to their normal days (IFRC, 2004;
CARE, 2020; World Bank, 2018).
And that’s because a prevalent type of resilience in the country is non-
transformative. Limited revisions are made for the improvement of disaster response.
An example is the cancellation of Project NOAH, a formerly government program
praised as an innovative app for disaster mitigation, due to lack of funds (Mateo, 2017;
Rappler, 2017). Furthermore, non-transformative resilience is not limited to just the
government’s disaster response – poverty, for example. This is exactly what Olsson et
al. (2015) warned against in regards to the role of resilience in politics and policy-
making – that some types of resilience hinders development, even though the original
form no longer benefits the people. Likewise, the original form is one that requires a lot
of time before people can bounce back. Efforts should be made to speed up that
transition.
Thus, if building resilience is included in the government’s agenda, then officials
have to take into consideration some factors – such as the need for either static or
dynamic outcomes and the time it takes to transition back – to account for its vagueness
and broad terminologies. Policies implemented should move towards progressive
institutions and a system that changes when its original form is no longer beneficial, so
that it can transform to become just as resilient as its people.

References
Bonnano, G. (2019, November 14). Human beings' astonishing capacity for self-healing.
Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.egonzehnder.com/insight/resilience-
is-a-natural-part-of-our-life#:~:text=Resilience%2C%20according%20to
%20Bonanno%2C%20is,weakened%20by%20experience%20and
%20circumstances.
Breda, A. (2018). A critical review of resilience theory and its relevance for social
work. Social Work , 54(1), 1-18. https://dx.doi.org/10.15270/54-1-611
CARE. (2020, November 16). Massive flooding hits Cagayan valley, philippines, care
and partners ready to respond - Philippines. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from
https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/massive-flooding-hits-cagayan-valley-
philippines-care-and-partners-ready-respond
Fletcher, D., & Sarkar, M. (2013). Psychological resilience. European Psychologist,
18(1), 12-23. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000124
IFRC. (2004). Nightmare continues for Philippine flood victims. IFRC. Retrieved March
31, 2021, from https://www.ifrc.org/ar/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-
pacific/philippines/nightmare-continues-for-philippine-flood-victims/
Mateo, J. (2017, February 2). Gov’t shuts down Project NOAH. The Philippine Star.
Retrieved April 3, 2021, from https://www.philstar.com/business/science-and-
environment/2017/02/02/1668037/govt-shuts-down-project-noah
Meerow, S., Newell, J. P., & Stults, M. (2016). Defining urban resilience: A review.
Landscape and Urban Planning, 147, 38-49.
doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.11.011
Olsson, L., Jerneck, A., Thoren, H., Persson, J., & O’Byrne, D. (2015). Why resilience is
unappealing to social science: Theoretical and empirical investigations of the
scientific use of resilience. Science Advances, 1(4). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400217
Rappler. (2017, January 29). Gov't to stop Project NOAH due to 'lack of funds'. Rappler.
 Retrieved April 3, 2021, from https://www.rappler.com/nation/government-stop-
project-noah-march-2017-lack-funds
Southwick, S. M., Bonanno, G. A., Masten, A. S., Panter-Brick, C., & Yehuda, R.
(2014). Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: Interdisciplinary
perspectives. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 5(1).
doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338
Vuori, J. (2021). Politics of Resilience.  International Relations. doi:
10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0297
World Bank. (2018, October 15). Philippines: Managing floods for RESILIENT
development in Metro Manila. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from
https://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/61238
 PORESIL
Term 2 SY 2020-2021

Critical Commentary 1

Name: Alyanna Joyce S. Abadejos

CRITERIA BEGINNING DEVELOPING SATISFACTORY EXEMPLARY Grade

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