IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2017) 8-1

Research article
erd

Benchmarking Concepts of Community Wellbeing in an Area
Vulnerable to Disaster due to Volcanic Eruption
MERITES M. BUOT*
College of Arts and Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines /Faculty of Education, UP Open University, Laguna, Philippines
Email: mmbuot@up.edu.phReceived 16 December 2016

Accepted 5 May 2017(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract Victims of natural disasters have countless challenges to face on right after the event.
Immediate local government unit and other community leaders are the first line of help toaffected communities. The wellbeing of everyone in a vulnerable community is greatly affectedby how the local sectors response. A deeper understanding of the concepts of community
wellbeing is hereby realized through a qualitative research approach in the field. Several focus
group discussions are done with five local sectors in the selected sites. The narratives of thevictims are analyzed through thematic analysis in identification of sectoral concerns regarding
concepts of community wellbeing.
Keywords community wellbeing, leaders, stakeholders, trust

INTRODUCTION
The recently heightening interest in local community wellbeing (CWB) indicators reflects a growing
awareness of their importance in harnessing citizen engagement, strengthening community planning,and encouraging evidence-based policy making (Buot et al., 2016, Lee et al., 2015). Community
Wellbeing (CWB) concepts are defined and measured for stakeholders and policymakers to be able torethink the ways in which governmental priorities are debated and progress is scaled. Earlier studies
related to CWB began in the 1960s, but only a limited area had been tackled (Cummins, 2001; Baum,1999). It is undeniable that natural disasters are indeed real phenomena, and their impacts are
becoming all the more pressing especially so with the current climate change scenario. This is why
there has been a recent surge in risk reduction planning, capacity building, and community organizing
activities.
The Philippines has always been prone to natural disasters. Filipinos are no stranger to volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, huge landslides, and typhoons, which are the most frequently occurring
disasters in the country. These unfortunate events have always led to significant casualties and losses.
From 2000 to 2014, approximately 17,232 died due to natural disasters, in addition to theinsurmountable destructions of property reported (CRED, 2015). The goal of these activities is toprepare communities so that they can withstand the impacts of natural disasters and be able to adapt tothe difficult situation ahead of them.
This study, which assessed the different concepts of wellbeing from the perspective of the five
local sectors, contributes to a better understanding of how people survive the destruction and gradually
make progress toward starting again.
METHODOLOGY
Albay, Philippines was purposively chosen as the province with the closest proximity to Mt.
Mayon. Camalig was then chosen randomly from the list of communities (Fig. 1). A qualitativeⒸ ISERD

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approach to determine the concepts of community wellbeing (CWB) in the aftermath of the disasters
was used. Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted as a form of group interview using
discussion guides developed around the topic of CWB concepts. Probing questions were added if
needed in order to encourage more personal responses. Among the sectors represented during the focus
group discussion (FGD) conducted were the local government, education sector, business sector,
people’s organizations, and socio-civic sectors (Table 1). All participants were survivors of previous
disasters. They either lost properties or jobs owing to terrifying and fatal events like the volcanic
eruption in Albay. Group sizes varied between 6 to 10 participants representing different The sessions
lasted between 1.5 and 2 hours. Pseudonyms were used in order to protect the identity of theparticipants.

Fig. 1 The study site, Albay, Philippines
Table 1 Focus group participants
SITE
ALBAY

SECTOR

AGE
MEAN AGE
GENDER
Youngest Oldest
Male
FemaleEDUCATION
26
65
47
2
4
BUSINESS3270
53
6SOCIO CIVIC
23
34
27
3
3
LGU
34
61
49
5
4
PO
34
58
45
6
3
TOTAL
21
15

TOTAL
6
6
6
9
9
36

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Salient Insights from Albay
On September 14, 2014, the provincial government of Albay declared a preemptive evacuation aroundthe 8km extended danger zone (EDZ) of Mayon Volcano (PHIVOLCS, 2014). Several barangays of
Camalig, Albay were affected like Anoling, Sua, Tumpa, Quirangay, Salugan and Cabangan. Mt.
Mayon did not erupt but the affected families stayed in the evacuation centers (EC) for almost 3
months.
Education sector: Six teachers from the public school represented the education sector (Table 1). Allof them were married and had children. This sector felt most of the pressures in the wake of a disaster.
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Teachers, for example, might not be affected personally by the event but their workplace was usuallytransformed into an evacuation center. The 2014 volcanic activity did not bring lahar or volcanic debris
to their locality, but there were many evacuees who stayed for almost 3 months in the local school.
Doing duty even with disaster at hand (Table 2). Although classes were suspended for 2 weeks,
the teachers were required to report to duty to help in the evacuation organization. When classes
resumed after a while, they had to conduct classes while the evacuees were around. They knew that
their students were disturbed physically and emotionally. The tents serving as their new classrooms
were hot and the schoolchildren saw the discomfort of the evacuees, too.
“Naiyak ako kase ang mga bata nakabitbit ng pamaypay, nakahubad na. Naiyak ako. Ang init sa
tent.” – Mia (I cried because the children were all bringing fans, they even took off their shirts. I cried.
It was too hot in the tent.)
Table 2 Thematic analysis of the narratives in focus group discussion of participants
Sectors
Education
Business
Socio Civic
Local Government Unit (LGU)
People’s Organization

ThemesDoing duty even with disaster at hand
Acceptance of the inevitable
Better basic services means comfort in life
Disaster creates situation for Samaritan to emerge
Welfare for all
Dagus dagos (sustainability)
Common sentiments
Desires and wishes at disaster time

The education sector willingly performed these duties even in the face of danger because they
consider it as their moral obligation. They were hopeful that performing their role may bring a bright
future to these small kids under their care. The education sector expressed that morality and values
serve as the standard and foundation of a community. Respect and concern for the neighbors came out
as real values that the community must do collectively in order to engage all towards one community
goal. While they were helping the evacuees housed in their workplace, they were expecting that theevacuees themselves and other agencies which were trying to reach out to the affected families must
not forget the basics of respect and concern.
Acceptance of the Inevitable. While maintaining their duty at the EC, the teachers knew and haveaccepted the fact that the promises given to them might never come. Glenn shared that they were all
working to provide at least an enabling environment for the affected families. They tried to help withthe most they could extend. Oftentimes they had to solve with the help of the principal, complaints
about the comfort room, non-functional electric fans, and other basic necessities. In 2006, some ofthem, were themselves victims of the mudflow from Mayon volcano. Those past experiences hadtaught them countless lessons.
“Kami man ay experience sa bagyo at lahar. Naku nahulog ako sa may tubig. Pero ako talaga
survive lang kase kami lang asawa ko. Lahar ay apekted na din. Kalahati na ang tubig. Muntik na abot
ang bahay.” – Glenn (We have our own experience with typhoon and the lahar flow. I fell into thewaters. But I had to survive because my husband and I were alone. Lahar was a threat. Water was
everywhere. The flood water was almost in our house.)
Ruth wanted to say that the volcanic eruption may not happen too soon. With this in mind, theywanted to stay put where they were at the moment. A stronger faith in difficult times may have given
them more hope to stay (Nelson et al., 2011). But Mia, having experienced almost being killed by the
impacts of Mt. Mayon, was ready to move out anytime.
Business sector: Six participated from the business sector (Table 1). The participants were all
successful in their own field. Pete retired from his work in the US and decided to come back to theⒸ ISERD

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Philippines. Noli, an engineer, started his business by opening a welding shop in the 80s. From there,
he created jobs for his neighbors, relatives and other people. An economist, Manuel, made businesses
out of the natural resources of Albay. He was into adventure tourism. Both Noli and Manuel somehow
benefitted from the occurrence of natural disasters. Alan and Rey were into farming and the youngest
businessman, Dani at age 32, was into retail.
Better Basic Services Means Comfort in Life (Table 2). As good citizens, the participants said thatthey paid their taxes religiously and on time. In return, therefore, they expect the government toprovide them better basic services. Pete mentioned that he had paid high taxes in the US but nevercomplaint because the services were at par with his expectations. Manuel strongly invoked his idea that
community wellbeing could be attained only with improved basic services for all. Noli summed it up:“Yun pong obligations ay nagagawa. Ang government ay hindi mabibigay sa atin yung services
kung hindi natin din ginagawa ang obligations. Ang pera ay dapat maibalik in the form of services.
Government should do also their tasks/responsibility very well.” (Obligations should be fulfilled. The
government cannot give us the basic services if we do not fulfill our obligations. The resources we haveshared should be given back to the community in different forms of basic services.)
Insurance was also considered vital for their personal security and for the family in times of
emergencies. Everybody in the business sector agreed that insurance was important for emergency
cases and acknowledged it as a “social responsibility” of the government. Because both Alan and Rey
were in agriculture, they strongly believed that farms should be insured as well. When natural disasters
occur, the agricultural farms suffered a lot, even the agricultural animals, too. Alan categoricallyclassified insurance as a “contingency fund and a savings” as well. Rey considered insurance as a“security” for people in the agriculture sector. Even with the destruction of the agricultural products
during natural disaster, in this case, volcanic eruption, at least a contingency fund is available to thefarmers for recovery purposes. Rey called it a “fall back that will be a source for us to stand again.”
Disaster creates situation for Good Samaritans to emerge (Table 2). Disaster to somebusinessmen meant business. For example, Noli, being in the construction business benefitted in theaftermath of any disasters. But this kindhearted man, never thought about the benefit. He was thinkingof his employees every time a suspension of work happened. Although he was not personally affectedby the preemptive evacuation in Albay last 2014 he had experienced the after effect of Mt. Mayon’s
activity in 2006 and other effects caused by strong typhoons. If not for their neighbors, whom they had
not really known before, his family might not have survived. Noli described the disaster as “an eyeopener. And he added that “the best person who could help you would be your neighbor.” He realizedthat no one hadtaken time to know more about his neighbors and that disasters broughtneighborhood together.
“ Naging blessing ang trahedya. Ipaparealize nya talaga sa iyo ang maraming bagay na minsan
yung kapit bahay mo na hindi mo pinapansin yun pa pala ang tutulong sa iyo.” – Noli (During
disasters, the goodness in the heart was revealed. Tragedy becomes a blessing. One can say thatdisaster is an eye opener. A tragedy would make one realize that the neighbor you wouldn’t evennotice in ordinary days, became the source of help.)
Whatever the social status, everyone is on equal footing whenever in a disaster. Manuel describeddisasters as a “great leveler.” Jokingly, he added that social status does not matter if “pare-pareho
kayong masasalanta at kakain ka din ng sardinas.” (when everyone was affected by disaster and one
had to eat canned sardines.) No one can be choosy about what to eat. On the other hand, occurrence ofdisasters became a “wake up call” for the government to be always ready. Bicol region, specifically
Albay, had a long history of disaster incidence like typhoons, floods, or volcanic eruptions. Therefore,
the effort of preparation and mitigation for the worst disaster ever since was at the top on each local
government units’ agenda.
Socio civic sector: The socio civic participants were young leaders who joined the volunteer group to
help the community in times of disaster. Three males and 3 females joined the FGD (Table 1). Theirmean age was 27 years old. All of them had their own jobs and they were all singles. A sense ofⒸ ISERD

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fulfillment in doing volunteer works and the acquired value in each unique experience were consideredessential by each of them.
Karahayan san Gabos (Welfare for all) (Table 2). When one gives his/her time in order to extend
help to the community, it means sacrifices too. Even though the socio-civic sector participants
expressed that they received invaluable lessons by giving their time and they felt fulfilled and happy, acertain part of themselves were also given away. Commitment to help without expecting in return wasembedded in each story shared by the participants. Great concern for the affected communities can beshown in all the community works they had participated in. In addition to concern for the welfare ofothers, it was a strong grass root participation that would help boost one’s wellbeing. Jessica showedthat real concern for the welfare of the community can be shown even by simply listening to the storiesof the afflicted families. Sharing time with the victims was necessary and was expected of them. To beproactive was necessary for the welfare of everyone as shown by “precaution and warnings given.”
Since the participants were church-based, the spirit of faith and hope were strongly evident in the
narratives.
Dace highlighted how participation contributed for the good of the community, and for him,
everything was a result of a collective effort. All of the participants strongly expressed that community
effort was only successful with concerted personal efforts.
The local government sector: The FGD sessions were participated in by members of the barangay
council (6), municipal office (1), and one each from the provincial DRRMO, and from the Civil
Defense Office (Table 1).
Dagus-dagos (Sustainability) (Table 2). Sustainability of the effort from the LGU leadership
down to the lowest bracket of the organization was always basic in order to see the seriousness of
whoever was in command. Albay is very vulnerable to any Mt. Mayon’s activity. In Camalig alone, 6barangays are situated along the 8km EDZ. A small tremor from the volcano would mean thousandsof families would have to be evacuated. Education through continual training and workshops, serve asa constant reminder to the community members that the municipal leadership was really sincere inattaining a zero casualty objective. The health workers present were focused on giving what they
commit to do. Just like the political leaders, the health workers, showed consistency in the continuous
effort to bring the community to zero sickness. Lou, Lil and Beth shared that they would not stop
imparting the right knowledge to the residents. If the people would not come to the health clinics forcertain reasons, then they themselves visited them. Specifically, for Lou, she related that “house tohouse” was an option to take because she considered it as her “social responsibility” to increase thepeople’s knowledge about health.
Jo, a 61 year old kagawad, continued to serve the community even if he lacked the financial
capability. He believed that serving meant finding other sources of help by going to the right persons.
He always projected a positive attitude to tap other linkages in order to bring help to the constituents.
Sense of “pagkukusa” (initiativeness) was cited by Lou and Jo. Indeed, the barangay local leadershipdid not wait lethargically but was more proactive. Security or people’s safety for their lives andpossessions dominantly echoed in Efren’s shared stories. As Jo and Efren narrated, community
wellbeing meant a “visible leadership.” Not only during extreme events but more so during theplanning stage to prevent a disastrous effect of a volcanic eruption (Atkinson and Sapat, 2014).
Sustenance of the effort towards “karahayan” (welfare) of the entire community started with theindividual’s initiative and reaching its climax with initiative and dynamic leadership.
People’s organization: The Mayon’s Farmer Association was under the oversight of the municipal
Department of Agriculture (DA). Forty-five years was the mean age of the participants (Table 4.1). Six
males and 3 females joined the FGD. These farmers obviously were risk takers because they continued
to farm even under the constant threat of Mt. Mayon. Their farms were located in Sua, a barangay
within the 6-8 km EDZ. During the last preemptive evacuation in 2014, these farmers were personallyaffected.

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The common experiences and sentiments (Table 2). Their proximity to the volcano sometimes
gave them an edge over other policy makers, national or local. They knew when to stay or flee. But
because of the zero-casualty program of the provincial government, these farmers could not refuse toflee during a volcanic activity. During the prolonged preemptive evacuation of 3 months, most of themoney saved by the farmers were gone. Going to an evacuation center was not a welcome news but
they could not do otherwise. Sonia, being a mother, was always worried about the safety of thechildren, thus she openly declared that she wanted the needs of the family to be provided while staying
at the EC. Elvie and the rest of the participants concurred that they could not just depend on thegovernment for all their needs and therefore they had to work. Because they were farmers and theirsource of living was from their farms, they wanted to go home as soon as possible. Elvie was vocal
about their need to go home. Jona was talking about the sustainability of their source of income whichmight be destroyed if they stayed away from their farms far too long. Yes, relief goods were
distributed but Jona believed that it “was not enough to accommodate the needs of the family” forseveral months.
Personal desires and wishes at disaster time (Table 2). The provision of basic needs was foremostin every parent’s mind in the aftermath of a disaster. During this uncomfortable situation, everyone
wanted to have “ extra money” for emergencies. Odie and the rest of the participants felt this financial
need. Security against crime was also essential in this most troubled times. Thus the visibility of thepolicemen was a welcome sight for them.
A public leader they could easily approach during extreme need was the plea of Ebie. It was also asymbol of hope for her to see leaders who “were available and willing to help.” In addition to that,
Ebie hoped to have a safe neighborhood so that the feeling of security would be enhanced. Emil, thechair of the organization desired to have a safe community for all. For him it meant, safe for him “tomove around, and to continue working without mental worries.” Having a safe neighborhood improved
the feeling of trust in other people of the community.
A community that experienced intermittent natural disasters have members who are risks takers.
In addition, Odie included the people’s “strong faith in God who would not put them into more risks
they cannot handle.” Odie shared that the more one takes risks, the more one “becomes strong anddetermined to survive for the family and the community as well.”
CONCLUSION
Concepts of community wellbeing can clearly be visible at the wake of disasters, when all the victims
were trying to use rationality to understand the damage and the loss. Having intact value system madeone to be kind and patient. All the business representatives agreed that a “positive mindset” isnecessary when disaster strikes, it will be a temporary state of affairs. Having a positive mind wasnecessary so that the victims might be able to put everything back, after the experience. Trust in theleadership and unity perhaps can erode but every sector might regain in due time. Faith was what
people always arm themselves as fall back during times of fatal disasters.
The decision of what a community needs should be shared by all sectors so that conflict can beeliminated immediately. If everyone works for the good of the community, problems will be solved
and the level of community wellbeing can be enhanced.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSoutheast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) andAgricultural Training Institute through the Expanded Human Resource Development Program(EHRDP) of ATI-Department of Agriculture.

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