TAGUM CITY- The Philippine Information Agency in Davao Region recently made its first salvo in rolling out communication activities lined up under Climate Change Advocacy. It conducted the Orientation/Briefing on Climate Change for Information Officers from June 19 to June 21 at Big 8 Corporate Hotel in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.
Philippine Information Agency-XI Regional Director Efren F. Elbanbuena expected only about 50 information officers from local government units (LGUs) and national line agencies to come for the event. Exceeding his expectation, about 80 came to join the activity that he designed not just for participants to listen to lectures but to learn from model Disaster Risk Reduction Management Operation Center in Davao del Norte and in Compostela Valley.
The Orientation/Briefing on Climate Change for Information Officers, however, was not the only climate change and disaster risk reduction management-related activity that Regional Director Efren Elbanbuena organized to drumbeat public awareness on the new normal weather conditions and how these would affect human existence.
Disaster Reporting
Looking back, in year 2011, PIA Davao Region co-organized with MindaNews the 2nd Davao Regional Media Conference which tackled “Disaster Reporting for the Media Practitioners” hosted by the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte.
In the same year, PIA 11 organized the briefing/ orientation on Geo-Hazards and Disaster Reporting for LGU Information Officers. During the activity, Director Elbanbuena announced the latest innovation in short messaging system (SMS) which PIA 11 tapped as a means of “real-time reporting” using the SMART Infoboard Solutions.
Early in 2012, through its DavComval Information Center, PIA 11 started discussing with the Provincial Information Office and the Provincial Disaster Reduction Management Office in Davao del Norte the “Protocol on Disaster Reporting for Information Officers.”
In August of the same year, the Protocol was adopted by the PGO-IDS of Compostela Vallley which facilitated the presentation of such protocol to the 10th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Earlier, on June 21, 2012, PIA 11 braved its way to the gold-rush Brgy Mt. Diwata, Monkayo in Compostela Valley. Dir. Elbanbuena brought along regional heads of Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 11, the commander of the 25th Infantry Battalion of the 1001st Infantry Brigade and the secretariat of the Program Monitoring and Coordination Center of the National Task Force Diwalwal to conduct the “Geo-Hazard Forum” .
Aimed at raising awareness on the high geo-hazard risks that residents of Mt. Diwata were facing, the forum revealed the particular high-risk areas within the Diwalwal Mineral Reservation Area (DMRA). PIA 11 invited resource speakers from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and from the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) 11.
Before Pablo
In 2012, PIA 11 attempted to reach out and share the Protocol on Disaster Reporting with information officers in Davao Oriental. Due to time-constraint in arranging it, PIA 11 was overtaken by the mighty gust of Typhoon Pablo which brought immense devastation never before seen by the present generation of Comvalenyos and Dabawenyos.
Due to the long-time established network with information officers particularly in Compostela Valley and in Davao del Norte and its wide alliance with national line agencies, PIA 11 rode out from the wave of difficulty in gathering situation reports from grassroots level.
During the continuing relief and rehabilitation phase in areas devastated by Typhoon Pablo, PIA 11 supported the series of “Makigsayod Information Forum” organized by the PGO-IDS of Compostela Valley conducted in Typhoon Pablo-hit towns in the province.
On the other hand, with the openness and support of Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon, PIA 11 organized a series of communication activities in the province, labelled as “Pagpatigam”, derived from a Mandaya term meaning “to inform”.
PIA 11 conducted in July 2013, a communication skills enhancement training for information officers and media practitioners in Mati City in tie up with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Agencies (UNOCHA) which was still then assisting Davao Oriental.
It made a follow-through activity in September 2013 and conducted Communication Planning session with the same participants invited during the first Pagpatigam session in July, 2013.
Before Yolanda
Meanwhile, long before Typhoon Yolanda made a landfall in November, 2013 in Leyte, Director Elbanbuena made headway preparing for the “Makigsayod Information Forum for Indigenous Peoples” in Brgy. Upper Ulip in Monkayo, Compostela Valley.
It was set early on November 7, a day before Typhoon Yolanda was expected to first hit Leyte but was postponed to later date on November 21 due to the typhoon.
The “Makigsayod Information Forum for Indigenous Peoples” was aimed at informing IPs in the Mt. Diwalwal Mineral Reservation site of the geo-hazard risks in their area and to educate them about the extreme changes in weather conditions caused by climate change.
Two, super typhoon came and went lately. PIA 11 moved onward, rolling out its communication activities designed to raise awareness and deepen public understanding on the need to prepare for disasters triggered by onslaught of natural phenomenon made more harsh due to extreme climate changes.
Due Credit
PIA 11 gives due credit to funding agencies which generously share resources, enabling it to exercise its role in building disaster-resilient communities. Among its funding agencies are the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which highly involves PIA in its PMCC NTFD operation and in its Climate Change Advocacy.
The Department of Energy (DOE) also provides assistance for activities on energy conservation which is also a major concern in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
It also recognizes the cooperation of national line agencies which have helped PIA 11 create significant impact in the communities where it holds its activities.
PIA 11 also banks on the support of local governments units which have embraced the communication activities of PIA as vital aid necessary to help them achieve community preparedness amidst threat of climate change. (PIA 11/Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)
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