BANDILYO, Face-to-Face Interaction, and Vulnerability Awareness as Conduits of an Effective Disaster Risk COMMUNICATION

Abstract

This paper provides empirical evidence that face-to-face interactions and people's vulnerability awareness are conduits to the information-seeking behavior of people living in hard-to-reach locations. This argument is substantiated by presenting a barangay (village) case in the northeastern area of Mindanao, Philippines. This village is a frontrunner in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) implementation, having won local and national DRRM competitions. This investigation was conducted through an assessment survey of residents in the area based on disaster communication ecology (DCE). Results show a solid micro-level DCE and a misalignment between meso and micro levels. Majority of the respondents believe that they are vulnerable to disasters, are aware of and have attended disaster risk and reduction programs; find bandilyo, an announcement in the local dialect delivered by a member of the village DRRM council using a megaphone, as the most common and essential tool in communicating disaster information; and have a positive assessment of the village's disaster risk reduction and management plan. Given these, strengthening disaster preparedness requires a solid foundation of community-level human interaction. The results of this study will also provide significant data to establish the existing disaster communication ecologies and help formulate messages relevant to their context.