Addressing disaster risk reduction through community-rooted interventions in the Philippines: experience of the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines

Abstract

This paper describes the support programme developed by the Homeless People’s Federation Philippines, Inc. (HPFPI) for disaster-affected communities, working with its support NGO, the Philippine Action for Community-led Shelter Initiatives, Inc. (PACSII). The programme developed in response to six major disasters and includes: community-rooted data gathering (assessing the severity and scope of destruction and victims’ immediate needs); trust and contact building; support for savings; the registering of community organizations; and identifying needed interventions, including building materials loans for house repairs. It also includes negotiating for land for transit housing and land acquisition for permanent housing construction. The paper also discusses the limits to community processes without government support, and through a case study in the city of Iloilo shows the scale and scope of what can be achieved when local government works with community organizations. The HPFPI and PACSII are also developing disaster risk reduction initiatives by profiling at-risk communities and establishing what can be done to reduce disaster risk. These efforts find impetus in enabling national policies and practice that have shifted from disaster response to disaster risk reduction, and funding for disaster response that can be drawn on for pre-disaster risk reduction.