Champions for disaster responders: Anyone?

MANILA, Philippines – Without protective gear, 53-year-old Allan Racaza wades through floodwaters with dead rats and rotting trash during rescue operations. In plain clothes, the new administrator of suburban Tatalon in Quezon City also leads fire-fighting operations.

Racaza has been a rescuer for about 10 years, doing the risky volunteer work out of dedication.

“Wala kaming natatanggap na benefits. Ang importante lang sa amin ay ang kapakanan ng mga mamamayan – na ang nasasakupan ng aming barangay ay mailigtas namin sa kapahamakan,” Racaza said. (We don’t receive benefits. What is important is the welfare of our people – that we’re able to keep them safe.)

But he also worries about the welfare of his men – more than 20 responders for a village vulnerable to floods and fires that affect about 100,000 people.

They get sick after rescue operations, often contracting leptospirosis. They have no health care benefits as first responders. As full-time village employees with other duties, they receive a meager monthly allowance of P5,500 ($122). 

“Maraming pa pong pagkukulang na dapat mapunuan ng pamahalaan – na magkaroon ng maraming responders na may allowance,” Racaza added. (There are still many gaps that the government should address, including the need for more responders with allowance.) 

For now, at the very least, a responder in his community gets a cup of hot coffee, relief goods, and the priceless satisfaction after saving lives, said Racaza.

No security of tenure

Local emergency response teams and volunteers, like Racaza’s group, are supervised by disaster risk reduction and management offices (DRRMOs) mandated to be established from the village up to the provincial level.

Disaster management is the primary responsibility of local government units (LGUs). At all levels, it is supposed to be carried out by a team of 4 – an officer and 3 members tasked to take care of administration and training, research and planning, and operations and warning.

In the law, all local disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) units have the longest list of functions. But they are among the most transient, neglected, and ill-equipped offices, a recurring complaint among disaster managers and responders.

“Until now, I speak (on behalf) of almost all of the DRRMOs in the entire country, even though it is mandated by law, not all have (a DRRMO), Pasig DRRM chief Ritchie Van Angeles earlier said in a forum organized by MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement arm. 

Angeles said DRRM officers and staff are mostly appointed, affecting sustainability of training and other efforts. Appointees often serve at the pleasure of local chief executives. (READ: Climate change resilience starts in the village)

In another workshop attended by Metro Manila disaster managers, responders, and humanitarian groups, the heads of the Marikina and Pasay DRRMOs stressed the need to look into the security of tenure among DRRM officers.

“Listen to the concerns of the DRRM officers across the Philippines,” Dr Val Barcinal, Marikina DRRM chief, pleaded in the workshop conducted by MovePH.

Professionalize disaster management

For Angeles, many of the issues raised can be addressed by uplifting the status of DRRM workers.

“We always appeal to professionalize our field,” he said.

A DRRM expert agrees, stressing the urgency of institutionalizing and standardizing the capacities of both public and private first responders.

“You’re in a country that is in the disaster corridor, what’s your choice? Do we have to wait until we count another 6,000 dead people?” asked Energy Development Corporation (EDC) disaster preparedness and response unit head Dr Ted Esguerra, referring to the number of dead that Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) left behind.

Esguerra helped in deploying 9 teams of responders to Yolanda-affected areas across the Visayas.

According to Esguerra, the crisis exposed the lack of a national program and support for frontliners in disaster response and management. His men, at least 8 per team, brought their own equipment and survived on their own, 

“It is not so much emphasized because the incident was so overwhelming. They were not thinking about having lunch. They were just thinking about how to reach another village,” Esguerra recalled. 

Esguerra explained that first responders should be trained and equipped appropriately and sufficiently because their primary task is to save lives. (READ: Project Agos: Pregnant woman, HIV patient rescued)

“Bumubuhay ka ng tao. Sa pagbuhay mo ng tao – 50-50. 50% ay ikaw, your persona, lakas mo, bilis mo, talino mo. Then 50% ang gamit mo. Bawa’t tanggal mo ng gamit, nagtatanggal ka ng effecitivity mo,” Esguerra said. (You save lives. In saving lives, 50% involves you, your persona, strength, agility, and intelligence. Your equipment constitutes the other 50%. Everytime you take away an equipment, you lessen your effectivity.) 

“I have to get the best equipment because it’s the worth of your mother, father, son, and daughter. If I don’t have the good equipment, the totality of the value, all I have is passion,” Esguerra said.

Benefits for first responders

Esguerra said dedication is not enough in the life-saving profession. The morale of rescuers should be raised and sustained by rewarding their services. 

“They might love it, but you add work without promoting or increasing their salaries. In the long run, I don’t think it’s fair,” said Esguerra, a former officer in charge of the Philippine Coast Guard’s elite rescue team. 

Esguerra proposes to instutionalize a benefit system for all first responders – from the uniformed personnel to village responders – who underwent government-accredited trainings, preferably conducted by academic institutions or humanitarian groups like the Philippine Red Cross. The trained responders will be issued identification (ID) cards that grant them discount privileges when purchasing goods and services like the following:  

• Public transport
• Health care services
• Medicines
• Food
• Equipment related to his work

“The power of the ID is like the one of a senior citizen,” Esguerra said, noting how doable the proposal is.

The benefits can be introduced by amending the existing DRRM law, which broadly puts the responsibility of ensuring welfare and protection of responders in agencies, civil society groups, the private sector, and LGUs.

According to Esguerra, disaster responders across the country are looking for champions who will support their cause.

“Seek the welfare of your men, makikipagpatayan yan sa iyo (they will defend you until your last breath),” he said, this time calling on legislators and advocates to respond to the plight of the country’s rescuers. – Rappler.com