Disaster Risk Reduction and Management among Local Universities and Colleges in Central Luzon, Philippines

Colleges and universities are key players in implementing the disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) agenda of the government. This study investigated DRRM among local universities and colleges (LUCs) in Central Luzon, Philippines focusing on philosophy, policies, programs, practices, and processes (5Ps) and level of implementation in the four thematic areas – disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster preparedness, disaster response, and disaster recovery and rehabilitation. The study also examined the relationship between the 5Ps and level of implementation of DRRM and their differences. A descriptive-correlational research design was employed with 123 respondents from 12 LUCs. A self-structured questionnaire was utilized to gather data. The 5Ps were rated as Evident with Philosophy receiving the highest rating. The level of implementation in the four areas was described as Implemented with Disaster Response receiving the highest mean. Strong positive correlations were found between the 5Ps and the level of DRRM implementation with Processes and Programs exhibiting the strongest positive correlation to level of implementation. Significant differences among the institutions in these two variables were also found, which implies that some scored higher compared to the rest. Based on the findings, various measures were proposed such as the integration of DRRM into the vision, mission, goals, and objectives of the institution, development of a manual of operations and institutional plan, integration in instruction, research and extension, enhancement of current programs and practices, institutional benchmarking among colleges and universities, and the utilization of the 5Ps framework to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Implications of the study to local and national DRRM strategies were also presented.