In the coastal community of Brgy. Santa Rosa in Mulanay, Quezon, incoming weather disturbances are a cause of alarm for most of the residents.

“Dito po sa lugar namin ay kadalasang binabaha. Kapag nagsalubong po ang tubig galing sa bundok at ito pong sa dagat, bumabaha po talaga,” shared Lerna Hito, a barangay health worker and a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), who lives near the coastline.

Lerna added that since most of the houses are made of light materials, residents need to evacuate early to avoid danger.

“Ang ginagawa po namin dati, ‘dun po kami sa mga may bahay na bato o sementado  pumupunta para mag-evacuate,” shared Lerna.

Other residents would go to the nearby school, the designated evacuation center of the barangay. However, with more than 400 families evacuating at a given time, the designated evacuation center is usually cramped.

As such, when the barangay was allotted fund under the DSWD’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) in 2023, the whole community proposed for the construction of their own one-story evacuation center.

Volunteering for the community

Wenceslao Subia, now a barangay councilor, worked as the chairperson of the Barangay Development Council – Technical Working Group for the evacuation center subproject.

“Kaming mga volunteer ay wala talagang sinis’weldo, pero tulong talaga sa barangay ang ginawa namin,” shared Wenceslao, who added that what motivated him more to be a volunteer was how he personally witnesses the struggles of the community whenever there is a need to evacuate from their homes.

Despite having a lot of challenges, he shared that their whole experience was a very fulfilling one, especially during the time of construction when they were able to help some of the residents earn additional income for their families.

Lerna was one of the workers who earned daily for her participation in some of the jobs in the construction of the evacuation center.

“Sama-sama kami na nagsaligsig ng buhangin, naghukay ng mga lupa, at nagbuhat ng mga hollow blocks,” happily recalled Lerna.

She added that aside from the daily wage she received, she felt grateful for the new realizations.

“Natutunan ko na kaya din po pala naming gampanan ang mga trabaho ng mga lalaki. Hindi lang pala pambahay ang mga babae. Kaya rin pala naming tumulong sa aming mga pamilya pagdating sa pinansyal,” shared Lerna.

Several months after the completion of their evacuation center, they proposed the Phase II of the evacuation center also under the Kalahi-CIDSS. Now, they have a two-story evacuation center that is able to house 200 individuals during times of calamities.

Proud of their project

In the recent typhoons Kristine and Pepito last October and November 2024, the evacuation center had been a great help not only to the displaced families but also to the barangay.

“Kumpleto na ang mga gamit dito sa evacuation center namin, may toilet, tubig, breastfeeding area, upuan, lamesa, higaan, at meron ding lutuan. Mas maginhawa na ang mga pamilya kapag lumilikas dito” shared Wenceslao.

He added that as a barangay official now, he sees how this has greatly helped them conveniently manage the displaced families.

“Dito na kami nagluluto ng pagkain na pangrasyon at malapit na rin ang pagdadalahan ng mga pagkain,” he said.

However, some of the residents still have to stay in the nearby school as the two-story evacuation center still cannot accommodate all the displaced families in the community.

Despite this, the barangay officials are still grateful as the residents need not cramp in the classrooms anymore.

“Mas madali na rin po kaming mag-monitor ng evacuees,” shared Lerna, who added that residents have been more at peace to leave their homes during calls for evacuation because of the convenience of their facility.

Other than serving as an evacuation center, the facility serves other purposes.

“Pinapagamit po namin ito nang libre sa school, sa mga kababaihan, at sa iba pang organisasyon para sa kanilang mga klase o meeting kapag wala namang kalamidad,” shared Wenceslao.

Looking at how useful the evacuation center is, especially during disasters, both Wenceslao and Lerna cannot hide their pride of being a part of the construction of the project.
“Masaya, hindi lang ako, kundi kaming lahat. Ipinagmamalaki namin na isa kami sa naghirap para mabuo ang project at alam naming matagal itong mapapakinabangan,” shared Wenceslao.#