Elmermercadowbceacasestudyinfanta.pdf

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY)

A Case Study of the Municipality of Infanta, Quezon Province Communitybased Disaster Preparedness and Management (CBDPM): Surviving and Recovering from a Natural Catastrophe A Contribution to the Philippines Country Environmental Analysis Draft for discussion Do not quote

September 2008

Elmer S. Mercado, EnP

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World Bank Consultant. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent. This paper represents work in progress and comments to the author are invited ([email protected]).

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) Summary The town of Infanta, Quezon province almost got obliterated when millions of cubic meters of floodwater, uprooted tree trunks, cut logs and mud ran down from the eroded slopes of the Sierra Madre mountains during a “freak of nature” towards the tail end of the 2004 November monsoon. This “freak of nature” many believed was the effects of global warming or climate change that developing countries have been directly experiencing even before the announcement in June 2007 by the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the direct role played by man on global warming. A day after Typhoon Winnie (international codename Nanmadol) rammed down the town of Infanta along with its neighboring towns of Real and General Nakar, the whole area was completely devastated and isolated from the outside world. Whilst Infanta and along with the rest of the eastern towns of Quezon in Southern Luzon that directly faced the Pacific Ocean are historically and geographically been at the so-called ‘typhoon belt’ of the country, it has never encountered the same intensity of rain, floodwaters, debris and mud that shunted out the whole of Infanta from the rest of the country. The amount of destruction to public and private property and the hundreds of lives lost and livelihoods uprooted by this disaster left an indelible memory to all of Infanta’s residents about the threats of natural hazards and calamities to the town’s very survival. Because of this experience, the town of Infanta decided that it would make a stand to survive and overcome the natural hazard poised by its physical location and address the vulnerabilities brought by natural disturbances into its communities and people. Infanta’s community based disaster preparedness and management (CBDPM) programme was borne out of its hard but learned experience from the November 2004 disaster. It focused its disaster plan on the empowerment and mobilisation of its people to effectively respond to any kind of calamity by its own strength and capacity. “You are on your own” or YoYo was a lesson they learned that they alone will have to support and respond within 24 hours to any future emergencies or disaster that may occur to their communities. It also imbibed the principle that disaster preparedness and management is everybody’s concern and that its effectivity and success rests on how local people from individual families and households to local government agencies and community organisations are able to implement and apply Infanta’s CBDPM’s four ‘Ps’ - predict, plan, prepare and practice, consistently and capably over time. It organized and trained individual residents, their families, their barangays, and their communities to respond appropriately to any disaster or emergency. The LGU also empowered small multi-sectoral “core groups” within the community i.e. the reorganized and reactivated Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC), Special Committee on Agos River Rehabilitation and Flood Control (SCARRFC), and Special Committee on Poblacion Area Drainage System (SCPADS) to plan, implement, monitor and sustain, in a participatory manner, any disaster preparedness and risk reduction program of the municipality. The barangays were also taught that their community could reduce the risks of natural hazards by reducing the vulnerabilities of their residents, implementing the four important Ps (Predict, Plan, Prepare, Practice), and focusing on their own community-based early warning and communication systems. Infanta also installed community-based early warning systems and established two-way radio communication between the barangays. It also conducted annual drills and exercises for flashflood, fire and earthquake preparedness. (Galing Pook, 2007) The municipality of Infanta also focused critical attention to the underlying cause of the November 2004 disaster and previous natural calamities that have plagued the whole of Infanta and its environs --- the denudation and deforestation of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Infanta, together with the other towns of Real and Nakar in 2006 have formed an inter-LGU forest management council that served as coordination and cooperating body to counter-act rampant illegal logging and protect the remaining forestlands in their upland areas with strict enforcement of forestry laws, joint patrolling and operations against illegal loggers and monitoring of illegal activities in their respective areas. With strong coordination with environment department, local police and military authorities, the council has

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) netted increased confiscations of illegally-cut logs and lumber and significantly reduced illegal activities in the REINA area over the last three years At the end of this, Infanta proved to all, especially to its citizens, that what it has painstakingly faced and worked on would be successful. After three years, Infanta has almost completely recovered from the physical and economic impact of the November 2004 disaster. What many people had speculated would take a long time or at least ten (10) years before the town of Infanta could rise and recover from the havoc brought by the landslides and flashfloods was achieved in three (3) years. The town through prudent fiscal management and maximisation of the LGU’s budgetary outlays plus continuous support of its citizenry has managed to rehabilitate, repair and make functional all its municipal roads, bridges and other infrastructures that were completed damaged by the disaster. One of the more stunning effects of Infanta’s recovery is its impressive fiscal performance that resulted to an increase in its local revenue collection and reduction of its dependence on the internal revenue allocation (IRA). From 2004-2006, local revenue collections in Infanta steadily grew to PhP 9.543 million or US$ 212,066 in 2006 from PhP 7.939 million or US$ 176,422 in 2004. Data from the Department of Finance (DoF) showed that Infanta’s local tax collection grew by 41.19 percent in 2006, while non-tax collection increased by a staggering 56% from the previous year collection. These tax-based revenue collections were generated mostly from real property taxes, business and sales taxes, and other local taxes while non-tax revenue includes local business and service fees, permits and licenses. In fact, Infanta’s total tax and non-tax revenue collections in 2006 even surpassed its 2004 collections for both local income sources. In 2006 Infanta’s local tax collections has reached PhP 4.511 million or US$ 100,244 surpassing its 2004 tax receipts of PhP 4.152 million or US$ 92,266. Similarly, the town’s collection of non-tax based revenues reached a whopping PhP 5.032 million or US$ 111,822 in 2006 collecting more than 30% above its 2004 total of PhP 3.786 million or US$ 84,133. Its locally-generated revenues account for 14.71 percent of total revenues. Non-tax revenues account for 8 percent of total revenues, compared to the national average of 6.52 percent for all municipalities. Likewise, its IRA dependence also showed declines from 83 percent to 81 percent from the same period. The LGU was awarded a special citation in 2007 by the Galing Pook Awards, a prestigious national local governance excellence awarding body, for best LGU fiscal management. Infanta’s rehabilitation efforts have pushed its economy forward with increases in the number of new businesses investments and operations established in the municipality. From 2005 to September 2008, there was a steady growth of new business coming into Infanta after the November 2004 disaster. As of September 2008, the Municipal Business Permit Office has reported that a total of 527 new business enterprises were registered from 2005. It has also reported that the total number of registered business in Infanta as of September 2008 has more than doubled to 1,121 establishments compared to the pre-disaster level of 594 businesses registered in 2004. Whilst Infanta’s recovery from the November 2004 catastrophe is not complete, the physical, social, emotional, economic and institutional rehabilitation it has determinedly pursued have made its people, communities and institutions a lot stronger and prepared to face the future challenges of nature and its devastating effects.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) A. Overview The formal announcement by the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007 that scientifically validated the role of man on global warming and its impact on climate change was an “inconvenient truth” that many people especially in developing countries, including the Philippines, have been experiencing for years before the IPCC panel’s dramatic announcement.

The reality of global climate change’s effect to local communities such as storm surges, rising flood waters, droughts and flashfloods and the human and physical catastrophe it brings to a community is a very vivid and harrowing experience to the people of the Municipality of Infanta2, Quezon Province during the deathly weeks of November and December 2004. From 16 November to 03 December 2004, the people of Infanta along with the neighboring towns of Real and General Nakar, that comprise what is called the REINA district (Real, Infanta and General Nakar) in the province of Quezon, suffered what local climate specialist called as a ‘freak of nature’. During that fateful period, Infanta and its neighbors suffered the onslaught of 4 typhoons (locally named Unding, Violeta, Winnie and Yoyong) that unleashed torrential rains and floodwaters throughout the 18-day period. But the most devastating day that will be perpetually etched in the minds of the people Infanta and the rest of the towns of Real and General Nakar was 29 November 2004.

Typhoon Winnie (international codename Nanmadol), weather disturbance to hit the area, down almost 342mm of rainfall in a day3 and more than 20 million cubic of mud and 3 meter high floodwaters the REINA area. The amount of received by Infanta and its environments on that single day was than what historically would fall in over the last 50 years.

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the 3rd poured single meters into rainfall more Infanta

The Municipality of Infanta is a second class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 60,992 people in 10,220 households. It has a land area of 130.1 km², representing 1.5% of the area of Quezon. It is divided into 36 barangays composed of 7 urban and 29 rural barangays. 3 The Philippine Weather Bureau estimated that a total of 342 mm of rainfall that fell at the REINA area on 29 November 2008. The intensity of this rainfall was equivalent to 15 day rainfall that normally falls in the area for the entire month of November in previous years.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) The tremendous volume of rainwater received by Infanta was further aggravated by the mud that came down from the eroded forestlands of the nearby Sierra Madre mountain range since Infanta sits as a geographical “catch basin” of three major river tributaries that leads to the Pacific Ocean. The Municipal Hall of Infanta before (left) and after (right) the devastation of Typhoon Winnie (Photo courtesy of LGU Infanta).

A day after the onslaug ht of Typhoo n Winnie was over whatev er image people had of Infanta before was totally erased. A total of 176 casualties (12 were recovered dead bodies, 53 missing persons and at least 11 reported injured) were recorded. Roughly 12,007 households/families were left isolated without any food, water, electricity, communication, and medicine, during the first few weeks of the disaster. Sixteen (16) out of its 36 barangays were severely damaged.

Out of the 5,087 houses that were reported as damaged by the typhoons, 2,047 were totally washed out while 3,040 units were partially damaged. An estimated PhP 103.3 million or US$ 2.29 million (at US$1=PhP45) worth of crops, livestock, fisheries/aquaculture products and around PhP 300 million or US$6.67 million of public infrastructures and utilities/facilities were heavily damage if not wiped out. Damages to private properties/businesses and the environment were estimated to have reached billions of pesos. Tons of washed out uprooted tree trunks, mud and other debris swamped Infanta’s town center, utilities and infrastructure in the aftermath of Typhoon Winnie. (Photo courtesy of LGU Infanta.)

F or more than a week, the whol e town and its more than 50,000 people was isolated from land, air and sea. Rescue and emergency relief workers had to literally crawl and traverse mountains of mud by foot just to get to victims in the main town center. The rest of the town’s barangays cannot be reached even after several weeks have passed because of large boulders, uprooted trees, drift logs and tons of mud that blocked all roads to Infanta’s 29 rural villages.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) B. Road to Survival and Recovery: Infanta’s Disaster Rehabilitation and Management Strategy 1.0 To Stay and Make a Stand The Philippines is visited by an average of 20 tropical storms and typhoons coming from the Pacific Ocean during the rainy season months of June-to-December. Around 60-70 percent of these tropical storms eventually become typhoons (or hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere) that causes massive physical havoc and destruction to lives and properties that are caught along its path. Quezon province where Infanta and the rest of the REINA area is situated in the eastern Philippine’s Pacific seaboard and sits right in the middle of the country’s typhoon corridor. Typhoons and flooding is an accepted condition and reality among the people of Infanta and the rest of the towns of Quezon province. After the impact of the November 2004 disaster, however, the people of Infanta and its local government decided to overcome the devastation caused by the November 2004 event and rejected recommendations by national authorities to abandon the town and relocate the entire population to higher and lesser prone area to avoid further destruction from future natural calamities. For the people of Infanta and its local leaders led by Mayor Filipina Grace America, the choice was only one thing. They have to properly prepare and seriously plan for subsequent events that will surely come their way as long as they stay in Infanta. Infanta’s community-based disaster preparedness and management plan (CBDPM) was a plan that not only practical measures to address possible emergency and disaster situations that might occur in the area but also the town’s determination to survive and work for its future. Map Source: www.wikipedia.com

2.0 “Predict, Plan, Prepare and Practice “- the Four ‘Ps’ of Infanta’s Community-based Disaster Preparedness and Management Programme (CBDPM) Infanta learned from the November 2004 calamity that the “community-based” approach is the most appropriate strategy for its disaster preparedness and management plan in the context of its geographical situation because it promotes self-reliance, especially within the first 24 hours of isolation and emergency response. Likewise, it accepted that while it cannot avoid the natural hazards brought about by its natural conditions, it can however work to mitigate the “vulnerabilities” of communities to these natural hazards. Finally, Infanta realised that in any calamity “our best asset or resource is still the human resource”. The over-all strategy adopted by Infanta to achieve all its objectives was to conduct “horizontal and vertical” participatory planning, implementation and monitoring of activities to make the people realize that DPM is not just the mandate of the LGU – but more importantly, it should be everybody’s concern. This involved expanding the existing notion of disaster preparedness on emergency relief and response, Infanta used what is termed the four ‘P’s- predict, plan, prepare and practice. Infanta’s CBDPM started with the pre-identification of potential risks and hazards poised by possible natural hazards and disaster scenarios using scientific and community knowledge and information; with these information it formulated of its disaster preparedness plan through a participatory and community-based information, discussion and processing at the barangay levels that involved not only different stakeholders and sectors but individual households, families and individual members of the community; the plan integrated both community mobilisation, education and capability building as well as actual implementation of preventive and mitigating physical, organisational, technical and resources mobilisation activities; when all these community and municipal plans were in place they were regularly put into practice by conducting regular simulation and

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) community drills. Figure 1.0 presents the CBDPM process that was undertaken by Infanta to develop and apply its CBDPM. Figure 1.0 Infanta’s Community-based Disaster Preparedness and Management Process

Source: Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator

A key output of Infanta’s CBDPM process is the 2006 Rain-Induced Landslide and Flashflood Disaster Preparedness Plan. This plan laid out the blue print of disaster management with reference to the historical, physical and geographical characteristics of Infanta. The plan likewise represented the coordinated efforts among the different sectors of the community; the participation of Barangay Disaster Coordinating Councils; close collaboration of national government agencies; and the partnership with local, national and international private organizations to come up with effective disaster measures. Infanta’s disaster plan was further backed-up with regular budgetary allocations by the municipal government to support the implementation of key activities identified in approved disaster plan as well as funds during the initial phases of the CBDPM preparation and recovery and rehabilitation programme in 2005. Table 1.0 shows that despite its meagre resources after the disaster, Infanta was budgeted a total of PhP 19.4 million or US$ 431,000 (at US$1=PhP45) for its CBDPM programme. This included the acquisition of additional reconditioned heavy equipment (bulldozer, dump trucks, back hoe, etc.) amounting to PhP 9.0 million for the Agos river rehab. & flood control, dredging of waterways & canals, and the construction of a 3storey disaster operations center.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) Table 1.0 LGU Annual Allocation for CBDPM Programme Source of Funds 2005 Disaster Preparedness & Management* Agos River Rehab. & Flood Control Poblacion Drainage System /Clearing of Waterways and Tributaries Purchase of Additional Heavy Equipment/Vehicles (Supplemental Budget) Construction of New 3-storey Building (Disaster Operations Center) Construction of New 3-storey Building (Disaster Operations Center) Total Program Budget (in PhP)

2006

Calamity Fund** 2,500,000 900,000

2007

500,000

500,000

400,000 100,000

500,000 1,500,000

9,000,000 1,000,000

1,000,000

500,000

-

-

1,000,000

4,400,000

11,000,000

4,000,000

Source: Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC)

2.0 Mobilising the citizenry because disaster management is “everybody’s concern’ To pursue its recovery and rehabilitation after the November 2004 disaster, Infanta immediately reconfigured and mobilised its municipal disaster coordinating council (MDCC) with the Mayor as head. The MDCC was a multi-sectoral body composed of different representatives in Infanta including community organisations, religious, private, business and socio-civic groups and local government and community leaders, who had the task of implementing on the four (4) phases of CBDPM, namely: response, rehabilitation, mitigation and preparedness. On the other hand, while the MDCC focused mainly on disaster response, rehabilitation and preparedness efforts in 2005, small ‘core groups’ of community leaders and individuals were organised for specific rehabilitation tasks and resource mobilisation activities. Infanta realised that nobody will have more commitment and determination to help it overcome the ravages of the November disaster than its own citizens. Among the small groups of citizens organised and mobilised to pursue Infanta’s recovery and rehabilitation was the Special Committee on Agos River Rehabilitation and Flood Control (SCARRFC). The SCARRFC was primarily responsible for mobilising funds for the construction of gabion-type slope protection structures & Agos River rechanneling works that would serve as permanent physical diversion of floodwaters coming from the Agos River from General Nakar town. The SCARRFC simultaneously planned, worked and lobbied with the municipal, provincial & national governments to pay attention to and allocate funds for the rehabilitation/rechanneling of Agos River and the reconstruction of flood control structures along its banks. It also launched a massive signature campaign and dialogue with Malacanang officials resulting to the release of P50 million or US$ 1.1 million national fund for construction of Agos rechanneling dike. In addition, the SCARRFC initiated several community mobilization or “bayanihan” (e.g., sandbagging, re-channeling effort through “human conveyor” and “Ampon Puno”) activities designed to boost the sagging morale of the people of Infanta and to catch the attention of the national government. It also planned different fund raising and resource mobilisation activities to support other rehabilitation activities that were initiated in the municipality. The Special Committee on Poblacion Area Drainage System (SCPADS), on the other hand, recognized the fact that efficient drainage in the Poblacion and adjacent barangays is needed if flood waters from Agos River overflowed the gabion structures. SCPADS took the task of evaluating the “old” existing drainage system within the Poblacion area, formulate plans, programs & policies designed to improve the drainage efficiency of the system. It aims to reduce the risk of people being infected by water-borne diseases caused by contaminated & stagnant flood waters in Poblacion & its vicinity. The Infanta LGU also systematically saved PhP 3.5M from 2005-2007 to fund the planned construction of new 3-storey building beside the Municipal Hall that will house the Disaster Operations Center

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) (DOC) of the MDCC. The structure shall also serve as possible evacuation center of residents from low-lying barangays, in case flashfloods happen again. Infanta also maximised the national and international media attention given to the town after the disaster by establishing strong linkages and “convergence meetings” with international / local NGOs and funding donors resulted to the implementation of social, technical & livelihood assistance for recovery of local entrepreneurs, people’s organizations, farmers and fisherfolks 3.0 Empowering the people and community as core strategy in disaster preparedness and management “You are on your own” or YoYo is one of the first lessons learned by Infanta in the aftermath of the November disaster that struck them. In the first 24 hours after the event, the people of Infanta from its political leaders to the ordinary citizen realised that they cannot rely on anybody else for assistance or rescue but themselves. Isolated from all forms of access and communications, Infanta saw how helpless and vulnerable they were at the time they needed the most help. Because of this experience, the town resolved that its subsequent disaster preparedness and management programme will have to be centered on empowering the local people and communities so that it can respond to a disaster within 24 hours. Self-reliance and community involvement became the central focus of its CBDPM and community preparedness, capacity building and mobilisation were its driving force. Infanta’s “community-based” approach to disaster preparedness and management promoted selfreliance, especially within the first 24 hours of emergency response, while waiting for outside help. It organized and trained individual residents, their families, their barangays, and their communities to respond appropriately to any disaster or emergency. The LGU also empowered small multi-sectoral “core groups” within the community i.e. the reorganized and reactivated Municipal Disaster Coordinating Council (MDCC), Special Committee on Agos River Rehabilitation and Flood Control (SCARRFC), and Special Committee on Poblacion Area Drainage System (SCPADS) to plan, implement, monitor and sustain, in a participatory manner, any disaster preparedness and risk reduction program of the municipality. (Galing Pook, 2007) The barangays were also taught that their community could reduce the risks of natural hazards by reducing the vulnerabilities of their residents, implementing the four important Ps (Predict, Plan, Prepare, Practice), and focusing on their own community-based early warning and communication systems. Infanta also installed community-based early warning systems and established two-way radio communication between the barangays. It also conducted annual drills and exercises for flashflood, fire and earthquake preparedness C. Impacts and Benefits 1.0 Recovery in 3 years After the November 2004 disaster, many people had speculated that it would take a long time or at least ten (10) years before the town of Infanta could rise and recover from the havoc brought by the landslides and flashfloods. But after three (3) years, the town has managed to rehabilitate, repair and make functional all its municipal roads, bridges and other infrastructures that were damaged by the disaster. This was done through prudent fiscal management and maximisation of the LGU’s budgetary outlays plus continuous efforts by the citizenry to support the rehabilitation and recovery of the town. Likewise, as a result of its CBDPM programme, the municipality was able to prevent any major damages to life and property when another typhoon, Super typhoon “Reming”4 struck the town anew and the rest of Southern Luzon in December 2006. The municipality was able to conduct SAR (search & rescue) operations with the MDCC coordinated with the SAR teams from BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection), AFP – PN (Philippine Navy) & PA (Philippine Army) during the occurrence of Typhoon “Reming” in Infanta on 10-11 December 2006 and evacuated/rescued a number of families from several of its barangays and vicinity.

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Typhoon Reming struck a good portion of Southern Luzon and left massive damage to the Bicol region provinces. These are areas immediately south of Quezon province. However, minimal damage was reported in Infanta.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) 2.0 Improvement in local revenue collection and taxes; One of the more stunning effect of Infanta’s recovery is its impressive fiscal performance that resulted to an increase in its local revenue collection and reduction of its dependence on the internal revenue allocation (IRA)5 coming from the national government merely 3 years (2004-2006) after the November 2004 disaster. From 2004-2006, local revenue collections in Infanta steadily grew to PhP 9.543 million or US$ 212,066 in 2006 from PhP 7.939 million or US$ 176,422 in 2004. Data from the Department of Finance (DoF) showed that Infanta’s local tax collection grew by 41.19 percent in 2006, while non-tax collection increased by a staggering 56% from the previous year collection. These tax-based revenue collections were generated mostly from real property taxes, business and sales taxes, and other local taxes while non-tax revenue includes local business and service fees, permits and licenses. In fact, Infanta’s total tax and non-tax revenue collections in 2006 even surpassed its 2004 collections for both local income sources. In 2006 Infanta’s local tax collections has reached PhP 4.511 million or US$ 100,244 surpassing its 2004 tax receipts of PhP 4.152 million or US$ 92,266. Similarly, the town’s collection of non-tax based revenues reached a whopping PhP 5.032 million or US$ 111,822 in 2006 collecting more than 30% above its 2004 total of PhP 3.786 million or US$ 84,133. The increase in the reported total non-tax revenue collections of Infanta over the last three years merely reflects the renewed confidence of businesses to reestablish and relocate their enterprises into the municipality. This can be seen in the robust numbers of new business establishments registering in the municipality from 2005-2008. (Please see next section for details). Table 2.0 Local income and revenue sources of Infanta, in thousand pesos (2003-2006) Non- Tax Revenues Taxes Non-Tax Taxes on Total Taxes Other Local Permits and Service Business Other Income Revenues Property Tax Goods and Taxes Licenses Income Income Services FY 2003 4,350.40 1,708.70 2,563.60 78.1 6,173.50 726.6 666.8 4,780.10 1,836.20 FY 2004 4,152.80 1,617.30 2,494.60 40.9 3,786.90 728.3 621.7 2,436.90 1,635.30 FY 2005 3,195.30 1,367.20 1,802.50 25.60 4,429.10 831.30 1,154.60 2,443.20 2,443.20 FY 2006 4,511.60 2,132.56 2,318.30 60.74 5,032.14 1,061.32 974.77 2,996.05 2,825.45 Source: Department of Finance (DoF)

As a second-class municipality, Infanta’s average annual local income ranges only from more than P40 million to less than P50 million. Its locally-generated revenues account for 14.71 percent of total revenues. Non-tax revenues account for 8 percent of total revenues, compared to the national average of 6.52 percent for all municipalities. Likewise, its IRA dependence also showed declines from 83 percent to 81 percent from the same period. The LGU was awarded a special citation in 2007 by the Galing Pook Awards6, a prestigious national local governance excellence awarding body, for best LGU fiscal management. 3.0 Return of local investments and economic activity Another major impact of Infanta’s recovery programme and the LGU’s efforts to rehabilitate its economy is borne by the increase in new businesses investments and operations established in the 5 The IRA is the share of the local government units from the taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Poor local government units (LGUs) depend heavily on their IRA share to finance their operational costs and the delivery of basic services. 6 The Galing Pook Awards is a pioneering program that recognizes innovation and excellence in local governance. It started in October 21, 1993 under the joint initiative of the Local Government Academy-Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Ford Foundation, and other individual advocates of good governance from the academe, civil society and the government. Since 1994, more than 200 programs from 136 local government units have already won recognition. The Galing Pook winners are chosen each year from a wide array of programs from local governments after undergoing a rigorous multi-level screening process. (www.galingpook.org)

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) municipality. From 2005 to September 2008, there was a steady growth of new business coming into Infanta after the November 2004 disaster. A major portion of the town’s main market and commercial center located at the poblacion was severely damaged along with vital infrastructure and commercial buildings including the public market. As of September 2008, the Municipal Business Permit Office has reported that a total of 527 new business enterprises were registered from 2005. It has also reported that the total number of registered business in Infanta as of September 2008 has more than doubled to 1,121 establishments compared to the predisaster level of 594 businesses registered in 2004. 4.0 Stronger enforcement of environmental and natural resources laws Another major realisation that the people of Infanta and the rest of the towns in the REINA area was that they have to seriously and determinedly address the rampant illegal logging and destruction of the forestlands in the Sierra Madre mountain ranges that surrounds the whole REINA area. Rampant illegal logging and forest destruction for agricultural cultivation of upland areas have been constant problems within the Sierra Madre ranges of Quezon and Bicol. In fact, the towns of Infanta, Real and General Nakar are major transshipment points of illegal cut logs and other forest products coming from the forest of Aurora and Isabela. Despite a total log ban policy already imposed in the areas, rampant poaching remains. The deadly effects of the denudation and destruction of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges was clearly shown with the devastating effects of the tons of felled timbers, uprooted trees and millions of tons of eroded upland soil that cascaded as mudslides into the towns of Infanta, Real and General Nakar. To address this man-made threat, the towns of Infanta, Real and Nakar in 2006 have formed an inter-LGU forest management council that would serve as coordination and cooperating body that will counter-act rampant illegal logging and protect the remaining forestlands in their upland areas with strict enforcement of forestry laws and monitoring of illegal activities in their respective areas. With strong coordination with environment department, local police and military authorities, the council has netted increased confiscations of illegally-cut logs and lumber over the last three years. As of September 2008, local police authorities have confiscated from January 2004 a total of 20,072 board feet (bd ft) of illegal logs and a total of seven (7) loggers arrested. On the other hand, local environment enforcers reported the confiscation of some 19,104 bd. ft of illegal cut logs and timber from June 2007-September 2008. The volume of cut logs confiscated in the last15 months clearly shows that even after the devastating effect of the November 2004 event there is still a need for strong enforcement of logging laws in the upland areas of Infanta and the REINA area, which unfortunately, is under the jurisdiction of other LGUs.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) D. Sustainability The sustainability of Infanta’s CBDPM programme is clearly assured with the following: 1.0 “Disaster-resilient citizenry” as part of town’s 30-year strategic vision. As a manifestation of its determination to inscribed disaster preparedness and readiness among its citizenry, the Municipal Development Council (MDC), the town’s multi-sectoral development policy body, formulated and approved in 2007, Infanta’s revised local development plan that has integrated “disaster-resilient citizenry” to town’s strategic vision for the next 30 years. It meant the inclusion of CBDPM into the mainstream of good governance as well as assured sustained allocation of budgets and programmes to support the municipality’s CBDPM in succeeding years (Galing Pook, 2007). 2.0 Revision of town’s comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) to be disaster-risk averse and situated. The LGU has also revised its comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) to integrate disaster risk and mitigating factors in its land use and zoning areas. This included reclassifying previously identified residential zones within dangerrisk areas, relocating existing settlements and structures outside of danger zones, imposition of development and construction restrictions in risk areas and realignment of municipal and barangay roads and streets. 3.0 Local community’s continuing vigilance. Finally, the sustainability of Infanta’s CBDPM rests in the continuous vigilance and participation of local community members in local development efforts and plans. E. Replication Infanta’s experience in CBDPM has been cited as a model for disaster preparedness and governance by national award giving bodies such as the Galing Pook awards. Other municipalities, NGOs, and academe (UPLB, UP Diliman, etc.) have visited the municipality on study tours to learn from their experiences such the residents of Gen. Nakar, Quezon started organizing its own group, “Task Force Kalikasan”, patterned after Infanta’s SCARRFC for the rehabilitation of their own side of the Agos River. Infanta’s municipal mayor and other key municipal officials have served as resource persons in different national and international fora sharing its experience with other LGUs and national agencies. The latest was a Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) conference last May 2007 in Japan were its experiences served as inputs to future intervention measures and assistance programmes that the Japanese aid agency will develop in disaster-stricken countries in Asia and other parts of the world.

(NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION; FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY) F. References a. Documents and Reports Resito David and Jessie Felizardo, “Alternative Local Disaster Countermeasures for Agos River, Infanta, Quezon” “Infanta, Quezon: A Community Prepared for Disasters” (2007), Galing Pook 2007, Galing Pook Foundation, Quezon City. Community-Based Disaster Preparedness and Management Programme of Infanta, Quezon (PowerPoint presentation), Mayor Filipina America, Ateneo De Manila, 14 December 2007, 24 slides. “From Victims to Survivors – Some Community-based Disaster Risk Reduction Lessons from Infanta, Quezon” (PowerPoint presentation), Ron P. Crisostomo, JBIC Seminar on CBDRM, Kobe, Japan, 08 May 2007, 16 slides. Application Document for Gawad Galing Pook 2007 submitted by Infanta, Quezon. Various source documents from the Municipality of Infanta Local Fiscal Management Tables, Galing Pook Foundation, Quezon City. b. Interviews Hon. Filipina Grace America – Municipal Mayor, Infanta, Quezon Mr. Ron Crisostomo – Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator, Infanta, Quezon Ms. Armi Marquez - Municipal Public Information Office, Infanta, Quezon Ms. Pamela Grafilo – Programme Manager, Galing Pook Foundation c. On-line sources www.infanta.gov.ph www.wikipedia.com www.galingpook.org