Developing
Crustal Stress Community Awareness Network (CSCAN) on Luzon Island, The Philippines
by
Jean J. Chu, Project Consultant
1 January 2001
Summary
During a period of two and a half months, from mid-August until
the end of October 2000, the Government of the Philippines and the UNGP-IPASD
joined in a cooperative effort to monitor and forecast natural disasters.
Crustal stress sites were set up in nine municipalities located around the
island of Luzon. These sites are being monitored by local community residents,
including public administrators, the lay public, young students, as well as
scientists. The purpose of the network is to strengthen the preparedness and
awareness of local communities to changes in their natural environment that
are related to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The United Nations Global Programme for
the Integration of Public Administration and the Science of Disasters
(UNGP-IPASD) was established in 1996 by the Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UNDESA) in New York. Its purpose is to share with interested Member
States recent discoveries that link public administration and science in the
mitigation of large and sudden natural disasters such as earthquakes, heavy
rainstorms and floods.
In January 1997, the first UN International Conference on the Integration of Public Administration and the Science of Disasters, held in Beijing, China, included two representatives from the Republic of the Philippines: Corazon Alma G. de Leon, Chair of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Raymundo S. Punongbayan, Director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). They and other conference participants experienced first-hand, community-based technologies in disaster forecasting for seismic and weather-related events.
The UN Global Programme-IPASD, from 1996-99, facilitated in strengthening community preparedness for natural disasters in China. Significant successes in preparedness for the 1997 Jiashi earthquakes and the heavy flooding in South China in 1998 came to the attention of the Philippine government. In October of 1998, the offices of the Philippine Vice-President and the Secretary of National Defense expressed interest in cooperative work between the Philippines and the UNGP-IPASD. Funds were located in early 2000 to conduct project formulation visits on the island of Luzon in February and March.
Partners in Sustainable Development
Cooperative
work in disaster monitoring and preparedness began in the Philippines in early
2000, with facilitation by the CSC, the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST),
involving PAGASA and PHIVOLCS. Discussions between the UNGP-IPASD, CSC,
PHIVOLCS and Mayor Bayani B.F. Fernando of Marikina City, resulted in the organization
of a Round Table Conference (RTC) in Marikina City in mid-August 2000. By the
end of October 2000, the partnerships created during the RTC resulted in the
generation of preparedness activities in ten communities on the island of
Luzon, as part of a national project sponsored by the National Disaster
Coordination Council (NDCC) of the Philippines and the UNGP-IPASD.
The milestones in this national project involving public administrators, scientists and citizen participation for natural disaster preparedness and mitigation include:
· PROJECT
INITIATION. Momentum for the project began with a Round Table
Conference (RTC) for Government and Civil Society on Natural Disaster
Preparedness which took place in Marikina City from 21-23 August 2000. Orlando
S. Mercado, Secretary of National Defense (DND) and Chair of the NDCC, along
with Corazon De Leon, Chair of the CSC, Reynaldo Jaylo, Assistant Secretary of
Public Safety (DILG), Terrence Jones, Resident Coordinator of the UN System,
and Zenida Delica, Director of Training Programmes of the Asian Disaster
Preparedness Center (ADPC) in Bangkok, all participated in the RTC. Additional
attendees included Mayors, national officials from key ministries,
representatives of civil society organizations, and representatives from the
League of Barangays.
· NATIONAL
DISASTER MITIGATION MUSEUM. The Mayor of Marikina City had long-wanted
to establish a national disaster mitigation museum, and requested that the posters
and other materials from the Round Table Conference be deposited with
them. Designed for citizens and
especially school children, this museum includes the UNGP-IPASD poster
displays, a video display and tour of the Marikina lay monitoring station with
lectures. The UNGP-IPASD donated the materials on Wednesday evening 23 August,
and the first group of school children visited the new Museum on Monday morning
28 August. While the establishment of this Museum was not part of the original
plan of activities, the UNGP-IPASD was pleased to donate the materials and the
lay monitoring site to Marikina City as the core displays for the museum. Marikina City will augment the holdings,
develop computer access to the Internet, improve the public information programme
and publicize the Museum’s services to communities and schools throughout the
country.
· LUZON CSCAN INSTALLATION. A
network of monitoring sites, the Crustal Stress Community Awareness Network (CSCAN), was fully installed in nine
different communities on Luzon by 24 October 2000, with cooperation from the
Governors, Mayors, the Engineering Brigades of the Army, Navy and Air Force,
PHIVOLCS, and the Search and Rescue Squadrons of the Philippine Air Force. The
nine-community sites report their data to PHIVOLCS, which has designated a
full-time staff member to analyze the data and prepare summary reports on
crustal stress signals from the communities. A map of the sites is attached
(B).
· NETWORK
SITES OF THE LUZON CSCAN. The structure and participation of the Luzon CSCAN were designed as a model of good
governance, with transparency, accountability and widespread participation. The
network includes:
· Aparri:
Located at a Catholic School (primary and secondary), the nuns and students of
this observation site at St. Paul School of Aparri are enthusiastic about
carefully recording and reporting changes in the natural environment, and
learning from their participation in a national network. The Mayor is
exceptionally supportive and personally initiated contact with the school.
· Baler: The Mayor’s
Office in the Municipality of Baler is cooperating with the Aurora Integrated
Area Development Program (AIADP) of the Department of Agriculture (DOA). The
monitoring site is located in a joint AIADP/secondary school building, where
staff record and report the crustal stress signals.
· Batangas City: The staff
assigned to this observation site, established in the Office of the City
Veterinarian and Agricultural Services (OCVACS), regularly record and report crustal
stress data, as well as weather and other changes in the natural environment.
· Infanta: Located just
outside the Municipal Hall, this site has the strong support of the Mayor’s
Office. The staff at Infanta carefully and regularly record and report crustal
stress signals.
· Lingayen: Positioned
near the intersection of two major fault zones, the area of Lingayen is
excellent for crustal stress measurements. The observation site is at the City
Engineer’s Office.
· Marikina City: The first crustal
stress site ever established in the Philippines, this observation station is
located in the City Engineer’s Office. The staff of the engineer’s office
record and report signals regularly.
· Quezon City: Established
at PHIVOLCS within the campus grounds of the University of the Philippines,
government scientists record and report crustal stress data, as well as analyze
the observations of the other eight sites around the island of Luzon.
· Santa: A private
sector enterprise, where the workers record and report crustal stress data,
this monitoring site is situated just south of Vigen, near several fault zones.
The Office of the Provincial Governor partners in the monitoring effort with
the private sector.
· Sorsogon: The
Municipality of Sorsogon lies between two historically active volcanoes, one of
which is the well-known Mayon Volcano which erupted in February 2000. Municipal
government staff record the data.
· TRAINING AND
COORDINATION OF CITIZEN PARTICIPANTS. Tapping local resources in each
community, lay personnel from the nine monitoring stations of CSCAN came to
PHIVOLCS in Quezon City from 26-27 October 2000, to participate in a crustal
stress training seminar. Over thirty participants from nine different
communities on Luzon came together from various walks of life, including
building custodians, city engineers and accountants. Young students also
participated.
The two-day seminar trained
participants on ways to recognize signals from the natural environment that
relate to earthquake disasters. They also learned to plot their own data on
graphs, giving them a visual tool to help them recognize earthquake precursory
signals. Secretary Orlando S. Mercado (DND and NDCC), and Director Raymundo S.
Punongbayan (PHIVOLCS) also participated in the seminar.
Follow-Up to the Current
Activities
· INAUGURATION
OF CSCAN. By mid-2001, the Philippine Government led by NDCC, DILG,
CSC and PHIVOLCS, will officially inaugurate the Luzon CSCAN. Governors and Mayors
in the CSCAN region and further south will attend, with representatives of
civil society and the private sector, as well as the Resident Coordinator of
the UN System.
· EXPANSION OF
CSCAN ON LUZON. A monitoring site at Ilagan in Isabella Province will be
established as the tenth CSCAN site, so as to strengthen the entire Luzon
disaster preparedness network shield.
· Further
community-based training in natural disaster awareness, preparation and
mitigation at the nine sites, and in other areas as requested by governors and
mayors. Disaster preparedness is maximized when grass-roots feedback on changes
in the local natural environment is combined with data from CSCAN.
· Further
workshops between public administrators and scientists. These workshops will
clarify (i) the significance of crustal stress signals, (ii) the role of the
network in informing participants of changes in the geological situation and
(iii) the measured responses of public administrators to various degrees of
signals; discussion of probability theory and scaled precautionary measures.
· Fund-raising,
nationally and internationally, for extension of the CSCAN lay monitoring
network and community-based workshops on disaster awareness and preparedness
for public administrators and citizens, to the remaining two-thirds of the
Philippines. National private sector and funding agencies are included in this
activity.
· Publications
describing “Citizen-Participation in Network Monitoring of Natural Disaster
Precursors: Co-production of Public Safety Service Delivery”, including
analytical paper and training module for UNPAN (United Nations Online Network
of Regional Institutions for Capacity Building in Public Administration and
Finance).
Acknowledgements
This project
was made possible with the tremendous and coordinated help of the Philippine
Government and peoples. In order of involvement, our gratitude to the CSC,
DOST, PHIVOLCS, PAGASA, NDCC, DSWD and Offices of the Vice-President and
President, Governors and Mayors, DILG, DND and the Philippine Armed Forces
(Army, Air Force and Navy), as well as DECS, NFA, DPWH and DOA.
Particular
thanks are given to Secretaries Orlando S. Mercado (DND) and Alfredo S. Lim
(DILG), for their direct interest in this project facilitated the timely
completion of the crustal stress network, by assuring close cooperation at the
logistical and technical levels, as well as at the local community level. Last
but not least, the quiet, steady and consistent support of Director Raymundo S.
Punongbayan and his dedicated PHIVOLCS staff provided this project with the
fundamental base to succeed.
Details of Symbols Above
CSC: Civil Service Commission
DOST: Department of Science and
Technology
PHIVOLCS: Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology
PAGASA: Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration
NDCC: National Disaster Coordinating
Council
DSWD: Department of Social Welfare and
Development
DILG: Department of Interior and Local
Government
DND: Department of National Defense
DECS: Department of Education, Culture
and Sports
NFA: National Food Authority
DPWH: Department of Public Works and
Highways
DOA: Department of Agriculture