EMERGENCY preparedness is an important responsibility shared by all individuals and communities. The devastation brought by recent typhoons, which resulted in tremendous loss of lives, and property could have been prevented if there was preparation.

Traditionally, preparedness and emergency response is viewed purely as governmental function. This notion is reinforced by official preparedness and response procedures that generally do not include an active role for individual citizens. This omission has contributed to an ethic of passivity in the population that negatively impacts on the peoples' ability to prepare for and cope with disasters.

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The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) bill filed by Representative Teofisto "TG" Guingona III hopes to strengthen the capacity of communities and local government units to prepare for and respond to disasters. The culture of preparedness is founded on the shared understanding that future disasters will occur and that every person has a responsibility to prepare for and respond appropriately to these incidents.

The DRRM mandates a comprehensive disaster management plan from national down to the barangay level. It seeks to reduce the loss of life and property to disasters through forward planning and to hasten the rehabilitation of those adversely affected through sustained action.

The benefits of cultivating a preparedness culture are obvious. The human impact of disasters will be reduced, emergency response professionals will be able to perform critical tasks more effectively, and recovery from disasters will be faster and more efficient.

Deliberate information and education among the populace would enable individuals to take an active, rather than a passive role in preparing for disasters. This sense of individual responsibility will fuel larger government preparedness initiatives and facilitate effective operations during emergency incidents.

This means that all levels of government, private sector, communities and individual citizens share the responsibility for internal security. Hence, the importance of initiative and accountability at all levels of society, community preparedness; and the pro-active response from government and the private sector. Educational program is needed to teach citizens the all-hazards approach and nurture the sense of individual responsibility required for a robust preparedness culture.

The diversity of threats makes it challenging to achieve the universal perception of risk that underlies the need to develop a culture of preparedness. The question is not whether there should be a culture of preparedness in this country, but on how to create such culture. Email comments to roledan@gmail.com