Philippines Flagship Initiative Knowledge Product - Empowering local solutions: Community-driven Anticipatory Action for resilience in the Philippines (October 2024)

In the Philippines, communities are often the first responders when disasters strike. Many of these communities, particularly in coastal and rural areas, have practiced their own anticipatory actions for generations, rooted in local knowledge and collective efforts. These practices are integral to the cultural and social fabric, especially through bayanihan (mutual help), where community members come together to prepare, respond, and recover from disasters. The Enhancing Resilient Community Flagship Initiative (ERC FI) seeks to harness and scale up community practices, ensuring that disaster preparedness efforts are context-specific and sustainable.

To build a more resilient and prepared community, these grassroots efforts are being integrated into broader frameworks, such as the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) Anticipatory Action (AA) Framework . This document outlines insights from local communities across the Philippines, demonstrating how their practices can be aligned with CERF’s anticipatory action approach to reduce the impact of natural hazards, particularly tropical cyclones.