Leading from the ground up

On the eve of her 37th birthday, Sittie Batalo was on her way to Cagayan de Oro City when she received a call from her father-in-law in Basak Malutlot, Marawi City. She could hear gunshots being fired. 

This was the start of the 5-month Marawi siege that led to mass displacement of residents, widespread destruction of homes, and loss of innocent lives. 

During that call, Sittie couldn’t stop crying. All she could think about were the lives of her constituents, her neighbors, and her family members in Barangay Emie Punud in Marawi City. 

Sittie has been serving as the Barangay Chairwoman for over eight years and she was devastated that she wasn’t there when her constituents needed her the most.

“Kahit ganito ang posisyon ko gusto ko pantay ako sa mga tao. Ayokong maramdaman nila na mas mataas ako sa kanila. Kaya [naniniwala ako] na hanggat kaya ko, tutulong ako nang walang pagaalinlangan o [walang paghingi] ng kapalit (Even though I am in a leadership position, I want to be among the people. I don’t want them to feel that I am above them. That’s why as much as I can, I want to be able to help without hesitation or asking anything in return)”, the Chairwoman shares. 

Since June 2020, People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network (PDRRN), through the Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Pre-emptive Action in BARMM (SUPPA-BARMM) Project, has been visiting Barangay Emie Punud to conduct disaster risk reduction and preparation trainings for its barangay officials and the vulnerable community members.

For Chairwoman Batalo, this has significantly changed the landscape of their disaster preparedness. They have updated the information they disseminate to their residents and now regularly conduct strengthened information drives.

She also explained that their barangay officials can only do so much, especially given the limited budget they receive from the local government unit. Despite the limitations, they fulfill the needs of their community to the best of their abilities.

Chairwomen Batalo recognizes that members of vulnerable sectors are often shoved aside and neglected during disasters, crises, and emergencies. The SUPPA-BARMM Project gave her a profound understanding about the disparity between members of the vulnerable sector and those who aren’t.

Now, her mandate is now to prioritize the senior citizens, single mothers, pregnant women, farmers, and differently-abled so they can have more in life. 

She recalls the Marawi siege to be the most notable crisis to have hit their city. As a community leader, it was a wakeup call for her. 

She remembers seeing sick and wounded people walking around with their dextrose seemingly confused and unsure what to do, and thinks, “I’ve seen how much people have suffered then and I never want to see that again.”

SUPPA-BARMM is a joint project of IDEALS, Inc., PDRRN, Humanity & Inclusion, and OXFAM funded by European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. The project aims to improve disaster preparedness and decrease the vulnerability of highly at-risk communities in the cities of Cotabato and Marawi in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. At present, community-based disaster risk reduction and mitigation management trainings have been conducted to a total of 2,590 beneficiaries in Cotabato City and Marawi City.