Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Plan Approval

Members of Rosario’s Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council (MDRRMC) signed and approved our Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Plan (MDRRMP) during a meeting Monday afternoon. The council, chaired by the Municipal Mayor, includes all municipal department heads, the Chief of Police, the highest-ranking officer of the locally assigned armed forces platoon, the local parish priest, and other vital members of the community.

Our office reached a milestone on Monday, becoming the first municipality in the Province of Northern Samar, out of 24 municipalities, to draft and approve a Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Plan (MDRRMP). This dearth of planning is in spite of the requirement from the National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council, through Republic Act 10121 approved in 2010, which requires every municipality in the Philippines to develop their own MDRRMP by the year 2013.

Prior to the plan’s signing, Bobi and I delivered a presentation highlighting the key components of the plan. I was particularly intent upon explaining technical recommendations for risk reduction and proposals requiring significant budget allocation.

My First Pilgrimage, A Monkey Seller, Rosario's Founding Anniversary, and More

On June 6th, I joined my good friend Father Roni in making the long journey to Gamay at the far end of Northern Samar in advance of the Diocesan Pentecost celebration. It was a long journey by jeepney, car, boat, and ‘habal habal’ (a hired motorcycle accommodating up to 4 people).

Upon arrival, we socialized with his friends from the church. Pictured above, Father Roni sings 'videoke' at a local resort as the nuns await their turn. For all of their chastity, these singing nuns do love their love songs!

Representing our local parish in Rosario, I joined our delegation to march in the procession kicking off the Pentecost celebration June 7th in Gamay. (Photo Credit: Aida)

Benuga: Another Baraks Adventure

The sun setting over the bay and Samar Island as seen from Benuga. (Photo Credit: Father Roni)

Our municipality of Rosario is not known as a tourist destination. There are no developed tourist destinations, no lodgings, and no restaurants. No tour guides operate in these waters. The number of foreigners that have ever set foot on Rosario soil with the express purpose of pleasure can probably be counted on one hand. And these foreigners are likely to have ties to the area through marriage or work.

But these facts should not insinuate that Rosario is without its natural wonders. Rosario is, in fact, home to waterfalls, a hot springs (with potential for development, as unimpressive as it may currently be), and a beautiful coastal escape known as Benuga. This was the site of my latest excursion with the Baraks.

We first visited Benuga on June 12th, spending the whole day there. We took a boat to the secluded corner of Gilbert Island, far from the inhabited portion, and spent the day cooking, chatting, playing guitar, swimming, and exploring Benuga's rock formation and cave.

We enjoyed it so much that just 6 days later, we decided to return for an overnight camping trip, this time joined by my good friend and local parish priest Father Roni. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this trip quite as much as I would have liked.

The Kinis Festival

Dancers perform during Rosario's 'Kinis Festival'.

The Municipality of Rosario prides itself on being home to the best, tastiest ‘kinis’, or mud crabs, in the Philippines. These ‘kinis’ are fattened and exported to Manila and beyond. I can personally attest to just how savory these creatures are.

‘Kinis’ sold by a local man during the festival.

As part of an effort to encourage tourism to the area, Rosario has endeavored to stage an annual ‘Kinis Festival’, as part of the founding anniversary of their municipality every June 21st. The focal point of this festival is to be the dance of the ‘kinis’.

Month of Fiestas

On May 25th, I joined members of the church in heading to Ligaya for their Fiesta. This was one of the many fiestas I accompanied friends in attending during this past month.

May is the busiest month for fiestas in our area. Six of the eleven barangays in our municipality hosted their fiestas during this time. A fiesta kicks off with ‘Vesper Night’, the night preceding the actual fiesta. This night involves a disco with plenty of ‘kuratsa’, a traditional Spanish dance adopted into the Filipino culture and used to raise money, oftentimes a beauty or popularity pagent, and protocols from local officials. The fiesta day itself kicks off with a mass at the local chapel, followed by a procession of the statue of the patron saint of the community. Then, the main event… lots and lots of food. Most houses prepare huge spreads of food, allowing one to go from house to house to eat as much as they can.

We were the first to attack this delectable spread of food at one of five houses we visited in Ligaya.  

Country Livin'

My friends and I recently went on a couple excursions to 2 different farms; one being my friend Aida's family farm, the other being the Vice Mayor's. The former is a very low-key shanty built upon a hillside overlooking the family's rice fields. The latter is more geared towards leisure, being a couple very nice cottages next to a fish pond adjacent to a quaint river. The Vice Mayor still harvests fish from the pond, but for the most part he seems to be gearing it up to be a small resort for locals looking to escape daily life.

Elpiyo balances on the narrow wall of a concrete irrigation channel as we make the 30 minute journey through muddy rice fields to Aida's farm.

This is one way to get a 'ceelote' (young coconut). Pollard is incredible adept at climbing trees, and even took the time to cut open a coconut and drink it on the spot! 

Disaster Preparedness Workshop

Workshop participants discuss and plan activities to be conducted through their various offices before, during, and after a natural disaster.

Ever since we finished our site assessment of the entire municipality at the end of March, my counterpart Bobi and I intended to hold a 'Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan Development Workshop' with members of the municipal staff and officials from all 11 barangays (districts). This workshop would serve as a forum for the leaders of our community to provide their input into the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (MDRRMP) that we are tasked to develop.

Unfortunately, several circumstances beyond our control, including my resignation from Peace Corps and the multitude of fiestas at this time of year, delayed our plans. But after almost two months of planning, we were able to hold our two-day workshop this past Tuesday and Wednesday.

We designed the workshop to be as interactive as possible. Nearly all of the sessions involved group work, where individual communities and/or vocational teams worked together to assess current situations and plan for future activities which can not only render Rosario a more resilient community in the face of natural disaster, but maybe even prevent, or at least mitigate, future disasters from occurring.