In poor and flood-prone areas in Northern Philippines, there are ways to survive calamities reflective of one’s concern for others in the community. Filipino values manifest to make sure everyone is safe.

The research titled, “All for one, one for all: the role of Filipino pro-social behaviors in building a disaster-resilient community,” found out that the pro-social behaviors of damayan (solidarity) and bayanihan (communal effort) play an important role in the promotion of disaster-resiliency among flood-prone communities in Northern Philippines.

The study reveals that these behaviors are used as a mechanism especially when “external supports are unavailable.”

The researchers, Dr. Darin Jan C. Tindowen, head of the Center for Social Innovation, Local Knowledge, and Educational Research (CSILKER) of the University of Saint Louis (USL); and Ms. Honey Lei N. Bagalayos, then a Pychology student in USL when the research was conducted, noted that damayan and bayanihan are used by people in the identified communities as sources of strength for recovery when typhoons and floods hit the areas.

The study involved fifty informants and used interpretive approach to examine the informants’ responses and behaviors.

A framework for disaster-resilient community was developed by the researchers as a basis for building more disaster-resilient communities in the Philippines.

The proposed framework will be submitted by the researchers to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 02.

The full paper is published in the International Journal of Sustainable Society, Volume 10, Number 3 (November 2018 issue). It is also available online for a fee.

The International Journal of Sustainable Society is Scopus-indexed.